Just Pretend the Raindrops are Snowflakes!~A 12/11 TR! *Trip Wrap Up! Pg 21, 2/23!*

[Nermel9]

Hi everyone!

Welcome to my 4th trip report! I just got back last week from a quick trip to Disney World to see the amazing holiday decorations and get myself in the Christmas spirit!

The cast of this trip was my DH, Brandon and I:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010266.jpg

Our dates were December 10-14, 2011, and we stayed in Pop Century!

I'm sure many of you know me already, I'm Jen, a ridiculous Disney obsessed freak! I'm constantly planning trips in my mind, even if I never actually take them, it seems like I always need to be researching and planning a Disney trip! This trip was my 10th time to the World!

My DH is Brandon, who seems to be losing his interest in Disney lately. :sad1: He likes it, but he's ready for a break, ready to go somewhere else. I try to be supportive and say "sure, we can go somewhere else!" Then I remember I bought those AP's in October, and I kind of want to get my money's worth out of them...

Oh yes, October. In October, we went on a LONG, 10 day, fun-filled trip, (currently still writing the TR for that one, if anyone wants to hop over, the link is in my signature!) where I upgraded our 8 day park hoppers to AP's. Brandon totally gave me permission, and he was on board with coming back in May for our anniversary!

Then we came home, and I started thinking about Disney in December, and I begged and pleaded with him to take a short trip, just to see the holiday decorations. I used every bargaining tool I had-Southwest credits, so we had to pay for only one flight, AP resort discount, staying in a value resort. He agreed, and that's how this trip came about. :yay:

Unfortunately, this wasn't our best trip. Brandon just wasn't excited about it like he usually is, which kind of put a damper on my excitement. And our first night there, I started feeling a little sick, which I just thought was from the weather change, (we live in CT and it was starting to get pretty cold when we left, and it was in the 70's in Florida!) I figured I'd be fine when I woke up the next day. However, with each day that passed, I just felt more and more sick, so I couldn't do what I normally do in Disney-up early, nap, out late! I like to get in as much Disney as possible and that didn't happen with me not feeling well. :sick:

Oh yeah, and it rained. Like, every day. Some people can deal with rain...we're not fans. I mean, yeah, some rain here and there is fine, but not every day.

However, in spite of all of that, even though it wasn't our best trip, it was still a good trip! The decorations were amazing, as always, and we did a few things that were firsts for us, which I will share in this TR! We did have a great time, we weren't moping around the parks or anything!

So I hope you will join me in this adventure through sickness, boredom (DH, NOT me! :rotfl:) and Disney holiday magic! Looking forward to sharing this trip with my wonderful DIS friends and meeting new ones along the way! :goodvibes

[Nermel9]

Reserving for Chapter Links!

12/10 Saturday
1. Dude, it's Just the Airport Christmas Tree (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43523204&postcount=27)
2. It's Raining? Great. (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43583812&postcount=51)
3. Think of Christmas, Think of Snow (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43647488&postcount=79)
4. Sleigh Ride! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43717656&postcount=103)

12/11 Sunday
5. I'm not getting up, we're on vacation! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43770171&postcount=124)
6. Christmas at the Beach and Yacht Clubs (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43838810&postcount=149)
7. You can have it for free if you gobble (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43907264&postcount=177)

12/12 Monday
8. It's 11:30, is that too early for a margarita? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43953216&postcount=202)
9. 5 Minute Solo Trip! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44021779&postcount=231)
10. Oh no, not again! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44042056&postcount=249)

12/13 Tuesday
11. When in doubt, go to Epcot! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44061196&postcount=263)
12. The End, Part 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44091377&postcount=279)
13. The End, Part 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44092230&postcount=281)
14. Wrap It Up! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44119484&postcount=304)

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I'm here!!!! :yay::yay: Can't wait to hear all about your trip!

[jecskc]

Joining in !! Reading the other TR as well !!

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Joining!

[SoNotAPrincess]

Subbing! We were there from December 9-12 (TR link in signature), and you're right about the rain. I live here, and it was unseasonably wet. UGH!

Can't wait to hear all about your holiday trip!

[ronnmel]

Looking forward to reading!

[DisneyFirefly]

I'm here!

[Stefy]

I'm in popcorn:: am having withdrawal symptoms from Disney, esp Christmas ones too :teeth:

[Nermel9]

I'm here!!!! :yay::yay: Can't wait to hear all about your trip!

Yay, you're first, glad you're here! :cool1:

Joining in !! Reading the other TR as well !!

:welcome: Thanks for joining!

Joining!

Hi Nikki, happy you're here! :banana:

Subbing! We were there from December 9-12 (TR link in signature), and you're right about the rain. I live here, and it was unseasonably wet. UGH!

Can't wait to hear all about your holiday trip!

:welcome: Thanks for joining! I thought December was supposed to have no rain! :rotfl: I will definitely join your TR as soon as I get home from work, I'm supposed to be out the door right now, actually...:laughing:

Looking forward to reading!

Yay, glad to have you here! :)

I'm here!

Woo hoo, glad you're here! :woohoo:

I'm in popcorn:: am having withdrawal symptoms from Disney, esp Christmas ones too :teeth:

Hi! OMG I'm having some serious withdrawal symptoms right now too, it's weird, I didn't feel like this after our October trip, but this trip...I just want to go back now! :laughing:

[Mrs T 2009]

Here I am :wave2: !!!!!

[Shannon84]

Im here :cool1:

[tankgirl427]

I'm here. I'm trying to hold off on starting my Dec TR until I finish Oct's but by then it might be time for January!

[MiaBella05]

popcorn:: joining in popcorn::

[serene56]

You know how you plan trips in your head..
well I read trip reports to get me through to my next one.

We can not go until December 2013 (which is forever in my book)
so I try to read everything possible regarding the same week (or thereabout)

Never been during the christmas season. Last time we went was during Halloween and that was only last year.

The upcoming trip will be ONLY my 4th.

I look forward to all your adventures.


PS- have you ever looked into a cruise-- NOT a disney cruise-- just a regular cruise

[Dugette]

I'm here! Looking forward to hearing about this one!

[Nermel9]

Here I am :wave2: !!!!!

Yay, glad to have you along! :cool1:

Im here :cool1:

Woo hoo, happy you're here! :woohoo:

I'm here. I'm trying to hold off on starting my Dec TR until I finish Oct's but by then it might be time for January!

Welcome, glad you're here! I'm not sure how well writing 2 TR's at once is going to go, but if I waited to finish my October one, I wouldn't be starting this one until like, April! You might as well just start yours now! :laughing:

popcorn:: joining in popcorn::

Welcome, thanks for joining! :banana:

You know how you plan trips in your head..
well I read trip reports to get me through to my next one.

We can not go until December 2013 (which is forever in my book)
so I try to read everything possible regarding the same week (or thereabout)

Never been during the christmas season. Last time we went was during Halloween and that was only last year.

The upcoming trip will be ONLY my 4th.

I look forward to all your adventures.

PS- have you ever looked into a cruise-- NOT a disney cruise-- just a regular cruise

Welcome! I'm glad I have the DIS to keep me busy between trips, I don't know what I'd do without TR's!

December is a great time to go, the parks are decorated so beautifully, and the crowds were pretty low! :thumbsup2

I have looked into Disney cruises, but not regular ones...I feel like if I ever go on a cruise, I'd rather start with a Disney cruise! I really want to do the Alaska one, but it's super expensive! :eek:

I'm here! Looking forward to hearing about this one!

Yay, glad to have you here! :dance3:

I'm going to try hopefully do my first update tonight, but if for some reason I don't, I definitely will tomorrow! :thumbsup2

[IheartDDuck]

I'm here! :goodvibes

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I'm here! Excited to join in for another one of your reports! :goodvibes

[serene56]

I have looked into Disney cruises, but not regular ones...I feel like if I ever go on a cruise, I'd rather start with a Disney cruise! I really want to do the Alaska one, but it's super expensive! :eek:



I wish I could afford the disney cruises--- but I can take 3 7 day cruises for the price of one 4 day disney cruise.
Even the cruise to nowhere for 2 days is uber expensive.

we just sailed the Pride in a balcony cabin for 3 of us for 1477. total

[TanzUnited99]

I'm here and glad to hear you are feeling better! :goodvibes

Looking forward to reading about the things that were firsts for you guys :thumbsup2

[KatMark]

I had no idea you had started this.

I'm here now and will be back to catch up. :goodvibes

[Joyciemc]

I'm here! Looking forward to reading about this trip, too!

[kittylady1972]

Yippeee...another trip report! Can't wait to read more! :)

[Nermel9]

I'm here! :goodvibes

Yay!!! :banana:

I'm here! Excited to join in for another one of your reports! :goodvibes

Hi, glad you're here! :cool1:

I wish I could afford the disney cruises--- but I can take 3 7 day cruises for the price of one 4 day disney cruise.
Even the cruise to nowhere for 2 days is uber expensive.

we just sailed the Pride in a balcony cabin for 3 of us for 1477. total

LOL I can't afford the Disney cruises either, which is why I've never been on one. I mean, I guess I could if I skipped a Disney trip, but who wants to do that? I'll have to look into other cruise lines, but I really want to do a Bahamas Disney cruise to go to Castaway Cay! :cloud9:

I'm here and glad to hear you are feeling better! :goodvibes

Looking forward to reading about the things that were firsts for you guys :thumbsup2

Yay, happy you're here, and thanks, I feel much better! :yay:

I had no idea you had started this.

I'm here now and will be back to catch up. :goodvibes

I'm sorry, I tried to announce it as much as I could! :laughing: And there's not much to catch up on yet, I haven't even done my first update!

I'm here! Looking forward to reading about this trip, too!

Woo hoo, glad you're here! :yay:

Yippeee...another trip report! Can't wait to read more! :)

Hi! Thanks, happy you're here! :banana:

[wdwgirl03]

I'm here too. Sucks about the rain/being sick but after our March trip I've decided that once you go to WDW so often you're bound to have some bad luck eventually! Atleast you got to see the decorations. :)

[Nermel9]

Dude, it's Just the Airport Christmas Tree

12/10, Saturday

Hi guys! I'm going to do a quick update, just to get this thing started, I'm SO busy with Christmas and everything! I'm supposed to be making Oreo balls right now, but I'm taking a break to DIS! :rolleyes1

Ok! So, I normally start my TR's by talking about us waking up, driving to the airport and all that...I'm going to just breeze through that, because honestly? It's pretty much the same as our October trip! I woke up at 2:30 am, got ready, got Brandon up, and we were out the door by 3:30 ish!

We got to the airport, checked our bags and went through security, where something a little strange happened...they said they needed to look through my bag! MY bag? They're joking...I don't have anything suspicious in there...

Oh wait. That's right. I have a Christmas tree in there.

A small, silver, pointy Christmas tree which I suppose could be mistaken as some sort of Christmasy weapon on the scanner screens.

When the guy went to open my bag, I said "it's my tree, isn't it," shamefully. I brought so many decorations to decorate my window at Pop, and I thought my little tree was safest in my carry on. I didn't know it would cause a problem. So the nice security guy took out the tree, rescanned and of course, it was fine without it. So he gave it back to me and sent me on my way, with my poor little tree back safely in my carry on.

So after that little mishap, again, everything went just like all of our other trips do...we ate at Mc Donald's and then went to sit at our gate until it was time to board.

Our flight was uneventful, and soon we were in sunny Orlando!

I was a bit concerned as we stepped on to the mini monorail, because that's usually where I get my first good sniff of that lovely Florida air. It didn't smell like Florida to me, so I voiced my concerns to Brandon. He assured me it did, but I didn't notice it. I was sad, because that's one of the things I look forward to.

We went to get our bags and rental car, and on the way, I saw the Christmas tree they had up at MCO!

"Stop, let me take a picture!"

"Dude, it's just the airport Christmas tree."

I'm sure you can guess who said what. :rotfl:

I stopped anyway, because it was my first sign of Christmas in Florida, and I took a picture.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010226.jpg

After making Brandon wait for all of 10 seconds so I could take my picture, we grabbed our bags, checked in with Alamo and went to pick out our car. We were psyched because they finally had a Jetta in the midsize row!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010227.jpg

We claimed our adorable car and were off to Disney World! Except...I had no idea how to get to Pop! I grabbed my Iphone and looked for directions, but then said "ah, whatever, why don't we just go to Downtown Disney to eat, and we'll figure it out from there" which is exactly what we did!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010229.jpg
My favorite sight in the world!


Downtown Disney was PACKED! It took forever for us to find a parking space, and when we did, we were far away, practically over by Pleasure Island. It was a far walk to Earl of Sandwich!

No, there was no discussion about where we would be eating, it's pretty much a given that when we are in DTD, we're eating at Earl of Sandwich!

The line was ridiculous in EoS. Like really, I've never seen it that long. But it seemed to be moving, so Brandon hopped in line and I went to find a seat.

I found one over by that little kitchen store, and I texted Brandon to let him know where I was. He of course, didn't answer. He has this awful habit of not checking his phone when I really need him to. So I was obnoxious and just kept texting him over and over so when he did look he'd have like, 10 messages. Don't ask, I do weird things to amuse myself sometimes.

He found me and I of course snapped "why didn't you answer my texts?!" Apparently his phone wasn't on vibrate. Oops. :confused3

Anyway, he handed me my sandwich, and I seriously could not wait to dive in to this...I got...

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/IMG_0991.jpg
The Holiday Sandwich


I've been dreaming of this sandwich ever since I heard it existed, yet this was the first time I've tried it. I talked about it to my co-workers...I even sent this picture to one of them! It was just as good as I hoped it would be. It's Thanksgiving on a sandwich. I could eat one every day for the rest of my life. If I had to choose a meal to eat before my death, that would be it. I'd do anything for one right now!

Oh yes, and Brandon got a boring tuna melt. But you don't want to hear about that right? Tuna with melted cheese on that amazing EoS bread. Yay. :laughing:

Once we finished our delicious sandwiches, we left DTD and headed over to Pop. I still had no idea where to go, I figured just go in the direction of Animal Kingdom and we'd find it. I'm used to Disney sending us directions to our resorts when we book a package, and this time we only booked a room. I guess that's a perk of booking a package, they actually want you to find your way to your resort. Us lowly room only people, well, can't be bothered with us. :rotfl:

Amazingly, we found it (ok, not amazingly, I checked my phone for directions again, and it turns out I was right, Animal Kingdom or Wide World of Sports! :woohoo:) and I tried to get a picture of the entrance sign, but just got this mess:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010230.jpg

We drove in and looked at all the cute signs along the way- "Color TV!" and "Air Conditioned Rooms!" Brandon asked if this hotel was 50's themed, and I explained the whole concept of Pop Century to him, and he said "oh, well, I hope we don't get put in the 50's section." Neither one of us are big fans of the 50's.

So, we checked in, and our room was ready, and where were we? 50's section, 4th floor, building 1! It was fine, though, it was an amazing location, we were so close to Classic Hall!

I couldn't wait to see our room! I love that first moment of going into a new resort room that you've never stayed at before! I know that sounds dorky but I spend so much time looking at resorts on the DIS, that when I finally see one in person, it's like fulfilling a dream or something.

Our room was SO cute! Yeah, it looks like all the other Pop rooms:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010232.jpg

but it's so cute! I loved it!

Brandon wanted to unpack and rest, but I had a more important task to complete. Window decorating. I had to turn this mess of decorations

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010234.jpg

into an amazing window display that everyone who walked by would stop and stare at! It took me almost an hour to put everything up, and I ended up not even using half of my window gels, but I was pretty happy with it, for my first attempt anyway:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010236.jpg

(I have a picture that I took at night with the lights on, but you will see that later!)

Once my window display was finished, I took a shower and tried to take a quick nap. I think I probably slept for like, 10 minutes. I was having trouble breathing out of my nose, which makes it hard for me to sleep, and I figured I was stuffed up from the plane or something, so I gave up and got ready. I got Brandon up, he hopped in the shower, and we were off to our favorite park for a couple of hours!

I could not have been happier! :lovestruc

Up next...Epcot, and "I hope I'm not getting sick"

(So much for my short update, huh? :rotfl2:)

[jecskc]

OMG !! I love, love LOVE your Mickey head Christmas lights !! I need some !! I NEED them !!

[Mrs T 2009]

Your window looks awesome!!! Love those mickey head lights!!! :)

Can not wait to hear more about your trip :D

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Hahahaha the "it's just the airport Christmas tree" sounds exactly like an exchange between me and DBF. Hey, these are precious memories here, people! :rotfl:

I'll take your word for it that the Holiday sandwich is good...I'll admit I'm intrigued, but I've read the ingredients, and it just seems to have a few too many "wet" ingredients on there for me. I'm not a fan of mayo or any sort of copious sandwich dressings (and I HATE when I get my sandwich and the bread is wet), so I feel like I'd be instantly annoyed with this one.

(Sorry you had to read a paragraph about my sandwich hangups. But that's my story, and I'm sticking to it! :lmao:)

Your window decorations are too cute, and I had absolutely no idea that they made Mickey head lights!!! Seriously?? Where are those from?

[IheartDDuck]

You're so right, don't the beginning of all our trip reports seem like "I woke up, I got ready, blah, blah, blah". No problem skipping past that.

"Dude, it's the airport Christmas tree". :lmao: That's just classic. There is no such thing as too many pictures.

Love the window decorations!

[klacey1]

Aww, I know what you mean about Florida air! It's totally different than what we have up here!
Your window looks fantastic! You really went all out!

[ronnmel]

Very cute Christmas window decorations. :) (sorry, too tired to make comments more thoughtful than that. :rotfl:)

[Stefy]

Aww your window looks so cute, can't wait to see it all lit up :)

Yay for being in Disney :teeth:

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

I'm here!!!!

Sickness oh no!!! When my friends were here a few weeks ago, all 3 of them left FL sick and my dad came home sick from FL a few days ago :( I've been popping Airborne like it's going out of business!!!

I love your window! I tried to decorate our door at AKL but I guess only really mousekeeping saw it lol

[marDgreen88]

Hey there, I'm joining in! I haven't gotten to read any of your past TRs but I'm starting from the beginning on this one! It looks like yall left the day we got there... which COULD mean we were at the airport at the same time? Anyways, can't wait to read!

[pinkxray]

Seriously, you started a trip report 3 days ago and I don't know about.:confused3 I must be avoiding the Dis.

Interesting chapter title. Whenever Caitlin spends time at your house she comes home and calls John or I dude and we always say "I am not Brandon, you don't call me Dude."

Being sick at Disney stinks and so does the rain. :sick:

Mmmmm, oreo balls. Never had them, but they sure sound good.

[MEK]

Better late than never! I didn't expect you to start a second TR. I figured you'd put it in the other one.

Very funny beginning Jen! I felt like I was right there with you! Boo to Brandon for getting "Disney-ed out". That happens to Denny too and he loves to tell me so.

I can't wait to see you window. And that Holiday sandwich - I bet it's like a capriottis bobbie (that's a local sub shop here that puts the turkey, stuffin, and cranberry sauce all together on a roll). Love it!

Glad you liked your pop room and it sounds like you had a great location.

Sorry it rained - that stinks. We had a couple overcast days but not a drop of rain. The temps were perfect!

[Shannon84]

First of all thats a pretty impressive Christmas tree in the airport, I would have taken a picture too :goodvibes

OH MY GOSH why did you have to post a picture of that sandwich...its like "What would you do for a Klondike bar"...because I would do just about anything for that sandwich right now :lmao: DF got it one night and I got something else, I took a bite of it and made him go back another time during the trip so I could get my own :rotfl: Theres a place around here that makes something similar, but it was no where near as good...sorry that was a big ramble about a sandwich!!

Your window decorations are too cute!! I love them!! Thats funny they stopped you over the Christmas tree in the airport! I have never stayed on the 50's side at POP

[SoNotAPrincess]

OMG, I have a photo of the MCO Christmas tree, too! It's nice to know I'm not the only person who feels it's necessary to document every single second of the trip!

Good start...can't wait to hear more...and excellent window decorations!!

[KatMark]

LOVE your Disney window all decorated...very cute.

Merry Christmas to you and Brandon.

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb136/Luvwrestling/poohchristmas.jpg

[Merida]

Subbing! I have a weakness for Jettas, even though I can't drive stick. I was supposed to learn on a Jetta though. I like your window decorations! There were some really impressive ones when we were at Riverside and now I want to go straight back with all of our unused Christmas decorations and have a pretty window. ;)

[ronnmel]

Joyeux Noel to the both of you!!

[xoktenox]

Hey girl, I'm here!

Your window looks great! :thumbsup2

Hope you had a Merry Christmas!

[Nermel9]

OMG !! I love, love LOVE your Mickey head Christmas lights !! I need some !! I NEED them !!

Thanks! I got them at the Disney Store online, so I'm sure you can still get them! :thumbsup2 They're really cute when they're lit up!

Your window looks awesome!!! Love those mickey head lights!!!

Can not wait to hear more about your trip :D

Thanks! I loved decorating my window! Aren't those lights so cute? I originally bought them to hang at work, but then I thought they'd be better for my trip! :banana:

Hahahaha the "it's just the airport Christmas tree" sounds exactly like an exchange between me and DBF. Hey, these are precious memories here, people! :rotfl:

I'll take your word for it that the Holiday sandwich is good...I'll admit I'm intrigued, but I've read the ingredients, and it just seems to have a few too many "wet" ingredients on there for me. I'm not a fan of mayo or any sort of copious sandwich dressings (and I HATE when I get my sandwich and the bread is wet), so I feel like I'd be instantly annoyed with this one.

(Sorry you had to read a paragraph about my sandwich hangups. But that's my story, and I'm sticking to it! )

Your window decorations are too cute, and I had absolutely no idea that they made Mickey head lights!!! Seriously?? Where are those from?

Haha, I can't believe that after so many trips together, Brandon still doesn't get that I take a picture of the most random things! :laughing:

Hmmm...I guess the Holiday Sandwich is a little on the wet side! :laughing: Between the gravy and the cranberry sauce, it's a little messy! But it's warm, so that's ok! If it wasn't a warm sandwich, I wouldn't want my bread to be wet either, that's gross! :rotfl: But since it was warm, it was really just like eating Thanksgiving dinner all in one bite, it was great!

I got the Mickey lights at Disneystore.com! Aren't they so cute? I wish I could have them up all year, but that would be too depressing! :rotfl:

You're so right, don't the beginning of all our trip reports seem like "I woke up, I got ready, blah, blah, blah". No problem skipping past that.

"Dude, it's the airport Christmas tree". :lmao: That's just classic. There is no such thing as too many pictures.

Love the window decorations!

Haha, I tried to skip that part, but it still seems like I took forever with the beginning! :laughing: If something different ever happens, like we leave a different time, maybe I'll include that, but for now, just assume we're leaving at 3:30 in the morning and eating breakfast at Mc Donald's, it's always the same! :laughing:

I was just so happy to see some sign of Christmas, I had to stop and take a picture! My Christmas spirit was seriously lacking this year.

Aww, I know what you mean about Florida air! It's totally different than what we have up here!
Your window looks fantastic! You really went all out!

I was so upset when I didn't really notice the Florida air! I did eventually, but it wasn't as strong as it was in October, probably because I was so stuffed up! :sick:

Thanks, I actually brought more decorations than that for the window...I have so many left for next year!

Very cute Christmas window decorations. :) (sorry, too tired to make comments more thoughtful than that. :rotfl:)

Thanks! :cool1: Haha, don't worry, sometimes all I can manage with comments is "great update"!:laughing:

Aww your window looks so cute, can't wait to see it all lit up :)

Yay for being in Disney :teeth:

Thanks! It's really cute lit up! :yay:

I'm here!!!!

Sickness oh no!!! When my friends were here a few weeks ago, all 3 of them left FL sick and my dad came home sick from FL a few days ago :( I've been popping Airborne like it's going out of business!!!

I love your window! I tried to decorate our door at AKL but I guess only really mousekeeping saw it lol

Yay! :woohoo:

I had a bad feeling I'd be sick on this trip...I tried to tell myself I was being dramatic, but seriously, every single person I was around at work was sick before I left, there was no way I could avoid it. :confused3 At least I wasn't so sick that I couldn't go to the parks, but it definitely made me more tired than I would have liked to be! :sad2:

Thanks! Yeah, you can't really decorate in deluxes, unless maybe you decorate the balcony or something!:confused3

Hey there, I'm joining in! I haven't gotten to read any of your past TRs but I'm starting from the beginning on this one! It looks like yall left the day we got there... which COULD mean we were at the airport at the same time? Anyways, can't wait to read!

Yay, :welcome:!

I always wonder how many DIS'ers are in the airport at the same time, I'm sure there are a lot! :laughing:

[Nermel9]

Seriously, you started a trip report 3 days ago and I don't know about.:confused3 I must be avoiding the Dis.

Interesting chapter title. Whenever Caitlin spends time at your house she comes home and calls John or I dude and we always say "I am not Brandon, you don't call me Dude."

Being sick at Disney stinks and so does the rain. :sick:

Mmmmm, oreo balls. Never had them, but they sure sound good.

Haha, yeah, I didn't even bother telling you because I didn't think you came on here anymore!

Yeah, other people call their husbands or wives "honey" or "baby"...we call each other dude. :laughing:

I seriously better not be sick again for like, a year. I've been sick so much in the past couple of months, I'm done!

Better late than never! I didn't expect you to start a second TR. I figured you'd put it in the other one.

Very funny beginning Jen! I felt like I was right there with you! Boo to Brandon for getting "Disney-ed out". That happens to Denny too and he loves to tell me so.

I can't wait to see you window. And that Holiday sandwich - I bet it's like a capriottis bobbie (that's a local sub shop here that puts the turkey, stuffin, and cranberry sauce all together on a roll). Love it!

Glad you liked your pop room and it sounds like you had a great location.

Sorry it rained - that stinks. We had a couple overcast days but not a drop of rain. The temps were perfect!

I thought of doing this TR in the other one, but it would have been too confusing! Although, it's confusing doing 2 at once too...I feel like I'm neglecting my October TR, I guess I'll have to do an update for that one later.

The holiday sandwich is SO good! AHHH I want one right now! I should take a little day trip to New York City, there is an EoS there now...:rolleyes1

First of all thats a pretty impressive Christmas tree in the airport, I would have taken a picture too :goodvibes

OH MY GOSH why did you have to post a picture of that sandwich...its like "What would you do for a Klondike bar"...because I would do just about anything for that sandwich right now :lmao: DF got it one night and I got something else, I took a bite of it and made him go back another time during the trip so I could get my own :rotfl: Theres a place around here that makes something similar, but it was no where near as good...sorry that was a big ramble about a sandwich!!

Your window decorations are too cute!! I love them!! Thats funny they stopped you over the Christmas tree in the airport! I have never stayed on the 50's side at POP

I liked the airport Christmas tree! I mean, it obviously wasn't a Disney tree, but it was nice to see!

Haha, don't worry, there is a whole thread in the restaurant section on the DIS about that sandwich! :laughing: It's pretty popular, it has a following! It's so good!

Thanks! I liked the 50's area at Pop, I wasn't sure I would, but it's really cute! The whole place is pretty cute, actually!

OMG, I have a photo of the MCO Christmas tree, too! It's nice to know I'm not the only person who feels it's necessary to document every single second of the trip!

Good start...can't wait to hear more...and excellent window decorations!!

Haha, I'm sure lots of people have pics of that tree! I normally try not to take many airport pictures, because I don't want to stop and dig my camera out, but I had to take one picture of that tree! :thumbsup2

Thanks! It was really fun, decorating a window! I would love to do a Halloween window sometime!

LOVE your Disney window all decorated...very cute.

Merry Christmas to you and Brandon.

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb136/Luvwrestling/poohchristmas.jpg

Thanks! And Merry Christmas to you! :goodvibes

Subbing! I have a weakness for Jettas, even though I can't drive stick. I was supposed to learn on a Jetta though. I like your window decorations! There were some really impressive ones when we were at Riverside and now I want to go straight back with all of our unused Christmas decorations and have a pretty window. ;)

:welcome: I love Jettas, I've always wanted one, but VW's are just not reliable cars! That's why I was so excited when we could rent one for a few days. It actually wasn't as fun to drive as I thought it would be, but it was still cute to look at!

I wish I had more time at Pop so I could have walked around more at night and looked at more windows, but I only saw the ones that were decorated in our section. I want to go back next year and decorate another window! :yay:

Joyeux Noel to the both of you!!

Thank you! Merry Christmas! :goodvibes

Hey girl, I'm here!

Your window looks great! :thumbsup2

Hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Yay, glad you're here!

Thanks, it was fun to decorate! I hope you had a Merry Christmas as well! :cool1:

[Simba22]

Subbing! I gotta go back and read!

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I find it hilarious that your bag got searched because you had a Christmas tree in there! :laughing: It was worth it though - your window was adorable! I can't wait to see what it looked like all lit up. :goodvibes

[Simba22]

Umm..there is NOTHING wrong with the Tuna Melt!! :rotfl: That's what I get everytime we go to EoS!

Although your Holiday Sandwich looks mighty yummy.... I'm 5 minutes away from lunch time so I'm STARVING!

Your window decorations look SOOO CUTE!!!! I LOVE those Mickey Lights!! You did a GREAT job!

[Nermel9]

Subbing! I gotta go back and read!

Yay,, you made it! :cool1:

I find it hilarious that your bag got searched because you had a Christmas tree in there! :laughing: It was worth it though - your window was adorable! I can't wait to see what it looked like all lit up. :goodvibes

I know, I felt kind of stupid that my Christmas tree caused such a problem! :rotfl: Thanks, I really loved decorating my window, another reason I want to go for Christmas every year now! :rotfl2:

Umm..there is NOTHING wrong with the Tuna Melt!! :rotfl: That's what I get everytime we go to EoS!

Although your Holiday Sandwich looks mighty yummy.... I'm 5 minutes away from lunch time so I'm STARVING!

Your window decorations look SOOO CUTE!!!! I LOVE those Mickey Lights!! You did a GREAT job!

Haha, I know, I love the tuna melt at EoS! But that Holiday sandwich is amazing, maybe part of it is because it's only available for a few months!

Thanks, it was fun decorating the window! I really love those Mickey lights! :lovestruc

[Nermel9]

It's Raining? Great.

12/10 Saturday

As we were getting ready to go to Epcot, not only did I noticed I was really stuffed up, but my throat was starting to hurt, which was strange for me, I never get a sore throat, and if I do, it only lasts a couple of hours. So between that and the stuffiness, I thought "oh great, I'm getting sick." I hate being sick, but even worse, I HATE being sick in Disney. I had a cold the first year Brandon and I went together in 2008 and it was awful.

Since my throat hurt, I took some Advil and tried to just hope it would go away soon. Maybe Epcot would make me feel better. So we opened the curtains before we left the room and saw...rain! Ugh, seriously? I don't want to skip ahead, if you're reading my October TR, but our last 2 days of that trip had SO much rain, and it was miserable! I'm not talking a sprinkle here or there, I'm talking wind and downpours and being soaked! Not good! So we were pretty upset to see it raining, but it didn't seem like the kind of rain that would be too horrible, so we just grabbed our hoodies and figured if we needed ponchos, we'd get them at the park. Honestly, Brandon didn't want to go to Epcot at all because of the rain. But I'm sorry, we only had 4 days there, and there's no way I'm letting sickness OR rain keep me from the parks!

When we got to Epcot, it was sprinkling a little, but the sun was peeking through, so it wasn't too bad. A lot of people seemed to be leaving as we were walking in, which was fine with me, maybe the lines wouldn't be too long!

I always seem to start out my Epcot updates with a picture of Spaceship Earth, or that fountain in front of it, so instead of that, here's my first Epcot picture:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010238.jpg

Isn't that so cute? :lovestruc I was thrilled when I saw that! I didn't like how they decorated on the sides of it through, they had these big poinsettia trees on either side...it just looked a little tacky. It looked like they didn't know what to put there so they were like "yeah, just toss these trees over there, no one will notice." Well, I noticed, Disney. You need someone to do your park decorating for Christmas, I'm available. :rolleyes1

Anyway, I checked the times board really quick for the Soarin' wait time, and it was way too long, so we went towards World Showcase. There were more Christmas decorations along the way:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010239.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010240.jpg

I was wishing we could stop for a Photopass picture, but since I didn't pre order the CD this trip, I didn't really see the point. Plus, they were going back and forth with being out and then going in when it would start to rain.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010241.jpg
The Epcot Tree


I love that tree so much, it's so pretty at night! It doesn't look that impressive in that picture, but trust me, at night, it sparkles! Even though we have been to Disney in November the past 2 years and have seen most of the Christmas decorations, it never gets old for me!

We were getting kind of hungry, and I wanted something yummy from the World Showcase. Mexico? No, we'd be back another time for margaritas. Something from China? Nah, I don't like their CS. As we approached Germany, I noticed they had booths selling Christmas items which I think were the same booths they used for the F&W festival, which made me really wish it was F&W time again! Really, it should just last through the winter. I miss those booths when they aren't there!

Brandon knew exactly what he wanted, beer in Germany, of course!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010244.jpg

So I went into Karamell Kuche, just to look around

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010242.jpg

and came out with this:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010246.jpg

Caramel popcorn! Yum, so good! Unlike any other caramel popcorn I have ever had, it was so fresh and soft!

Oh, and just to show you how crazy the weather was being that day...look at this picture I took while waiting for Brandon to get his beer:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010243.jpg
Blue skies and sunshine


How crazy is that? That is how it was all afternoon, sunny and blue for one mintue, gray and rainy the next! :eek:

Once we had our snacks (and yes, beer is a snack, even if the DDP doesn't count it as one!) we continued walking through WS. We noticed a really long line on the other side of the walkway, and I realized that was the Candlelight Processional standby line! :scared1: It was crazy! I mean, it was probably as far back as Germany. I thought they were waiting for the 5:00 show, but I heard a CM tell someone that they people at the end of the line wouldn't get in to that show, they were waiting for the 6:45 show! Can you imagine?? I know Neal Patrick Harris is popular, but I'd never wait that long!

Anyway, when we got to Japan, I commented that the new CS was open (I had to look up the name of it, because I kept forgetting-it's now Katsura Grill, replacing Yakitori House) and Brandon wanted to go in and check it out.

We never go up there, so I forgot how pretty Japan is!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010247.jpg

The new CS seemed pretty much the same as the other one, but Brandon had to try the sushi, even though he hated the sushi at Yakitori House when he got it once. I guess they did something to it, because he loved it! I tried a piece and it was ok, I'm not a big sushi person, I like it when it's soaked in soy sauce, which is apparently not the the right way to eat it! :laughing: But Brandon loved it, so I guess it was good!

We stopped to look at the HUGE fish in the pond in Japan for a minute

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010251.jpg

and then we continued walking. I considered getting something from the bakery in France, but it was getting later, and we had dinner reservations that night, so I didn't want to stuff myself, and I still had my popcorn, so I skipped it.

We found ourselves in England, and of course, Brandon's beer was empty, so he had to stop for another!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010253.jpg

Since I was still in denial about being sick at that point, I decided to get a beer too. I wasn't feeling too horrible then, so I was almost convinced that it was just the plane and the weather change.

We wanted to go walk around Canada and maybe see the Canada movie, but it was getting kind of late at that point, so we decided not to, but we did stop to see the storyteller in Canada, who was just coming out!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010256.jpg

Isn't he so authentic looking? :laughing: I admit, I didn't really listen to closely to his story, but it was all about Christmas in Canada. It was nice, but it didn't really capture my attention, so we moved on!

We were on our way out of Epcot, but I had to stop in Mousegear before we left, I'm obsessed with this store!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010261.jpg

Everything was so Christmasy in there, I loved it! I ended up buying a Star Wars Vinylmation, because I was hoping to get Darth Vader, and surprisingly, that's all I bought that day! I usually spend so much $$ in Mousegear, but I managed not to this time!

On our way out, I took some pics of the cute topiaries at the entrance, which we didn't stop to look at on our way in because of the rain:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010264.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010265.jpg

and we got one photopass picture on the way out, the same one you saw in my intro:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010266-1.jpg

(That's one maybe 4 pictures you will see of me through the entire trip, once I started feeling really sick, I didn't bother doing anything with my hair or makeup and just felt like I looked terrible, so I wasn't in many pictures!)

It was around 5:00 at that point, and we were ready to go back to Pop to rest for a little while. We had a full night of Magic Kingdom fun in front of us, and I was hoping to get a little sleep after being up since 2 am!

Up next...my beautiful castle and a holiday sleigh ride!

[tankgirl427]

Hmmm according to my notes, this day we were in HS, then DTD, then AKL, then HS (you'll see why in my TR), then over to MK. So maybe we could have seen each other at MK!?!

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

You will not believe this when I say it but not ONCE this holiday season have I been to the front of Epcot!!!! I was looking at your pics and it just hit me that I haven't been in the front AT ALL!!! Not only have I not been in the front but I didn't listen to one Santa this holiday season..eek!!! How can I say I live in Orlando and didn't see those things but I did go to MVMCP 3 times haha.

I love that Popcorn!!! I used a snack a few weeks ago and purchased a "small" bag which took me 3 days to attempt to eat before I finally threw it out!

I hope your sickness didn't last for long!!!!

[ronnmel]

Wow, that's crazy to be waiting hours and hours for the Candlelight Processional. The garden area in Japan is one of my favorite of all World Showcase. When we were there last time it was still being renovated for that new CS, so we didn't get to see it.

[wdwgirl03]

Ugh, you know how I feel about the rain. Both of us must have been cursed this year with rain. haha

OK, the more I see of the caramel store I seriously need to go in there. I think in March Claire and I walked through it but didn't get anything. And everyone seems to rave about the popcorn. Sounds yummy!

haha, I've seen that Darth Vader vinylmation. It is so cute and if I ever got any I'd be hoping for the same one. You know you're addicted to vinylmations when you don't even really like Star Wars but would get one to try to find Darth Vader. :rotfl: Which one did you end up with?

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I must try some of that caramel corn! I am not even that big of a caramel fan, but everything I've ever seen from that shop looks so good! I have tried to go in there a couple of times, but it's always packed so I end up leaving. :sad2:

Ugh, so sorry it was raining on you guys! Even though it's Florida and I know it rains often, it is just miserable! I'm glad it was sunny at least part of the time!

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I would love to see WDW at Christmastime! Especially Epcot. I would love to see all the storytellers and stuff. I'm with Brandon on beer being a snack but only in Epcot!

Totally stinks that you were feeling sick and that the weather wasn't good. We had a VERY rainy trip once and it actually wasn't that bad once we accepted it!

[SoNotAPrincess]

We were at Epcot that day, too, and you're right about the schizophrenic weather. It was downright warm and sunny that morning...too bad it didn't last! It's a shame you weren't feeling well. :sad2: I'm really enjoying your photos...they're so good!

[PlutosRHM55]

Joining in here! :mickeyjum I guess a bit late than most, but better late than never. I'm all caught up and I can't wait to read more about your trip, Jen! :teeth:

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

The weather definitely does sound like it was bizarre that day!! Wow, I definitely would never want to spend my whole Disney day waiting in the CP line! (Even for Neil Patrick Harris!! :laughing:)

It's funny, the hugest downpours we seem to encounter at WDW are usually at Epcot. I guess it's all the wide open spaces you can get caught in! :rotfl:

[Simba22]

What time was it when you passed the line for the Candlelight Processional??

I'm only wondering because my brother, my cousin AND my boyfriend all told me they wished they could be there to see Neil Patrick Harris! I'm just looking forward to their reactions when I tell them how long they would have had to wait....:rolleyes1

[Merida]

I like the sparkling light effect on the trees! I think it's on most of them? Or maybe I was just imagining it!

I was in Karamell Kuche for like five seconds, there really isn't much space in there, is it? And like half of it is dedicated to line!

The lines for Candlelight Processional - even dinner package - were horrendous during our trip. No way I'd stand in line for 1+ hour to see that show, especially when you can just dawdle around in America and see everything.

Which Vinylmation did you get?? We just got addicted to them, but didn't see any of the Star Wars ones. Are there any other places to trade Vinylmations in Epcot besides Mouse Gears?

[Nermel9]

Hmmm according to my notes, this day we were in HS, then DTD, then AKL, then HS (you'll see why in my TR), then over to MK. So maybe we could have seen each other at MK!?!

Wow, I can't believe you did so much in one day! I looked for you while I was in the parks once in a while, but I never saw you! :confused3 The closest I got was when I got a little lost at Pop and walked right by your door! AHHH!! :laughing:

You will not believe this when I say it but not ONCE this holiday season have I been to the front of Epcot!!!! I was looking at your pics and it just hit me that I haven't been in the front AT ALL!!! Not only have I not been in the front but I didn't listen to one Santa this holiday season..eek!!! How can I say I live in Orlando and didn't see those things but I did go to MVMCP 3 times haha.

I love that Popcorn!!! I used a snack a few weeks ago and purchased a "small" bag which took me 3 days to attempt to eat before I finally threw it out!

I hope your sickness didn't last for long!!!!

I can't believe you haven't been to the front of Epcot either, that's crazy!

I thought I was going to like the Epcot storytellers more than I did, however, it could have been because I was sick that I just didn't have the patience. Usually, I love a good Christmas story! :laughing: I just wasn't myself on this trip. :(

That popcorn is the BEST!!! I've read about it in other TR's and finally had to try it, yum! :cool1:

My sickness lasted forever! Almost 2 weeks, it took me forever to feel better! I'm declaring 2012 a sickness free year for me! :thumbsup2

Wow, that's crazy to be waiting hours and hours for the Candlelight Processional. The garden area in Japan is one of my favorite of all World Showcase. When we were there last time it was still being renovated for that new CS, so we didn't get to see it.

I know, I don't know how people could wait that long for the CP! Just splurge and get the dinner package already! :laughing:

Japan is so beautiful, I feel like I rediscover it with every trip! :lovestruc

Ugh, you know how I feel about the rain. Both of us must have been cursed this year with rain. haha

OK, the more I see of the caramel store I seriously need to go in there. I think in March Claire and I walked through it but didn't get anything. And everyone seems to rave about the popcorn. Sounds yummy!

haha, I've seen that Darth Vader vinylmation. It is so cute and if I ever got any I'd be hoping for the same one. You know you're addicted to vinylmations when you don't even really like Star Wars but would get one to try to find Darth Vader. :rotfl: Which one did you end up with?

Yeah, we both had some pretty bad luck with the rain! Which means our 2012 trips are going to be DRY and SICKNESS FREE!!! :banana:

The caramel store is amazing, but it's overwhelming, I go in there a lot, but I hardly ever buy anything! There's just so much to pick from! :scared1:

I really want the Darth Vader Vinyl, next time I'm in Disney, I'm going to go on a search for him! :laughing: I love Star Wars, I'd love to get the whole Vinyl set, but I really love Darth Vader! I got Luke, but I traded him! :laughing:

I must try some of that caramel corn! I am not even that big of a caramel fan, but everything I've ever seen from that shop looks so good! I have tried to go in there a couple of times, but it's always packed so I end up leaving. :sad2:

Ugh, so sorry it was raining on you guys! Even though it's Florida and I know it rains often, it is just miserable! I'm glad it was sunny at least part of the time!

The caramel shop is so good! It is always packed though, and you get overwhelmed with all the choices (at least, I do!) that it's sometimes hard to actually buy anything!

I don't think I would have cared about the rain so much if it didn't rain our last 2 days on our October trip, and if I wasn't sick. Usually I'm not such a baby about the weather! :laughing:

I would love to see WDW at Christmastime! Especially Epcot. I would love to see all the storytellers and stuff. I'm with Brandon on beer being a snack but only in Epcot!

Totally stinks that you were feeling sick and that the weather wasn't good. We had a VERY rainy trip once and it actually wasn't that bad once we accepted it!

WDW at Christmas is so beautiful! I really need more time there than 4 days though, because I wanted to see all of those storytellers! I just didn't have the patience this trip because I wasn't feeling well. :(

I read your TR where it rained almost the whole time, that was insane! I actually am ok with the rain if it's not completely pouring for days straight...and when I'm not sick! The 2 just don't go together for me! It made me feel worse than I actually was! :sick:

[Nermel9]

We were at Epcot that day, too, and you're right about the schizophrenic weather. It was downright warm and sunny that morning...too bad it didn't last! It's a shame you weren't feeling well. :sad2: I'm really enjoying your photos...they're so good!

It was such a weird weather day! I'm glad it wasn't a total rainout, but I was kind of looking forward to the FL sunshine for a few days! Thank you! :)

Joining in here! :mickeyjum I guess a bit late than most, but better late than never. I'm all caught up and I can't wait to read more about your trip, Jen! :teeth:

Haha, no, you're definitely not late! Glad you're here! :banana:

The weather definitely does sound like it was bizarre that day!! Wow, I definitely would never want to spend my whole Disney day waiting in the CP line! (Even for Neil Patrick Harris!! :laughing:)

It's funny, the hugest downpours we seem to encounter at WDW are usually at Epcot. I guess it's all the wide open spaces you can get caught in! :rotfl:

I know, I don't understand how people could basically waste a day waiting for the CP! There is so much else you can be doing! :laughing:

When it was raining in October, I was thinking "ok, what do the DISboards say to do in the rain?" and I could swear everyone says Epcot is the best park for the rain! Yes, everything is inside, but it's so big, when you walk everywhere, you end up soaked! Next time it rains, I'm going to MK I think, it's a lot smaller! :laughing:

What time was it when you passed the line for the Candlelight Processional??

I'm only wondering because my brother, my cousin AND my boyfriend all told me they wished they could be there to see Neil Patrick Harris! I'm just looking forward to their reactions when I tell them how long they would have had to wait....:rolleyes1

Well, we were only in Epcot between 3 and 5, so it was sometime between then, maybe around 3:30? I wish I took a picture of the line, because it was ridiculous, however, I did take a picture another day, and it was much earlier in the day...

Doing the dinner package is so much easier, we just walked right in and got a great seat! :thumbsup2

I like the sparkling light effect on the trees! I think it's on most of them? Or maybe I was just imagining it!

I was in Karamell Kuche for like five seconds, there really isn't much space in there, is it? And like half of it is dedicated to line!

The lines for Candlelight Processional - even dinner package - were horrendous during our trip. No way I'd stand in line for 1+ hour to see that show, especially when you can just dawdle around in America and see everything.

Which Vinylmation did you get?? We just got addicted to them, but didn't see any of the Star Wars ones. Are there any other places to trade Vinylmations in Epcot besides Mouse Gears?

Haha, no, I think you're right, most of the Disney trees sparkle! :lovestruc They're all so pretty when they are lit up!

See, I just don't get waiting in line when you do the dinner package, unless you really want to be in the front row or something! We did the dinner package and went in right before the CP started, and got great seats! :confused3 The standby lines are insane!

I got Luke Skywalker, I opened him in the car on the way to MK that night so you'll see a picture in a future update! :laughing: You can trade Vinyls in Epcot in a few places-the Mission Space store, those stores right at the beginning of the World Showcase, and I want to say the Figment store, (but I could be wrong about that one)...I think you can find a list online somewhere of where you can trade them in each park! :thumbsup2

[MEK]

I love that picture Jen! You guys look so cute.

Sorry you are feeling so poorly. That stinks considering I think you didn't feel well in October either. Total bummer. And the rain - YUCK. I guess I'm glad that I pushed my weekend back by one.

One drink I haven't had in the world showcase is beer. Yes - I know that's odd because I actually like beer. So my vow for summer is to focus on the beer and forget about the other drinks. I am going to follow in Brandon's footsteps (and many other's I'm sure). :rotfl:

You got a lot of great pictures and I agree that the Xmas tree is beautiful at night.

Great update. So where's dinner?????

[Stefy]

Great update, loving all the Christmasy Epcot pics :) I have a new found appreciation for Poinsettias now, every time I see one it reminds me of Disney :)

[marDgreen88]

Oh gosh, sorry you weren't feeling well and on top of that had to deal with rain! Being sick in Disney is truly the worst.

I loved that poinsettia Mickey too! So cute. I agree, the Epcot tree is just amazing. It's probably the prettiest of all the trees in the parks, just because of the ornaments and all that.

You got some beautiful pictures!

[Nermel9]

I love that picture Jen! You guys look so cute.

Sorry you are feeling so poorly. That stinks considering I think you didn't feel well in October either. Total bummer. And the rain - YUCK. I guess I'm glad that I pushed my weekend back by one.

One drink I haven't had in the world showcase is beer. Yes - I know that's odd because I actually like beer. So my vow for summer is to focus on the beer and forget about the other drinks. I am going to follow in Brandon's footsteps (and many other's I'm sure). :rotfl:

You got a lot of great pictures and I agree that the Xmas tree is beautiful at night.

Great update. So where's dinner?????

Thanks! Ugh, I don't like any of the pictures we took on this trip! Brandon looks miserable in almost all of them, and I look sickly! :laughing:

I was ok for my October trip, I was just getting over bronchitis, but luckily it was gone by the time we were in Florida! But I was nervous the whole time that it would come back, and then in December, I am actually sick for the whole trip...that just means the next few times I go to Disney, I'll be perfectly healthy, since I got all that sickness out of the way last year, right? :cool1: I'm glad the rain was gone by the time you got there! It actually wasn't too bad, but I just didn't want to deal with it since I wasn't feeling well.

Haha, I like beer too, but I would rather get the fun drinks in World Showcase, you can have beer anytime! :laughing:

Thanks, I love all of the Disney Christmas trees, they're all so pretty!

Great update, loving all the Christmasy Epcot pics :) I have a new found appreciation for Poinsettias now, every time I see one it reminds me of Disney :)

Thanks! Haha, I think the same thing when I see poinsettias too, they're Disney flowers now, not Christmas flowers! :rotfl2:

Oh gosh, sorry you weren't feeling well and on top of that had to deal with rain! Being sick in Disney is truly the worst.

I loved that poinsettia Mickey too! So cute. I agree, the Epcot tree is just amazing. It's probably the prettiest of all the trees in the parks, just because of the ornaments and all that.

You got some beautiful pictures!

Thanks! Ugh, yeah, being sick in Disney is pretty awful. I'm hoping I got it out of my system last year so when I go this year, I won't have to worry about it! That's fair, right? :woohoo:

The Epcot tree is really pretty, and I also really love the Animal Kingdom tree, however, I don't think I've seen that one lit up, since I never go there when it's dark! :scared1:

Thank you, I just learned how to edit my pics in Iphoto, so some of them are a little brighter than they would normally be! :thumbsup2

[Simba22]

You know, now that I think about it....the one and only time I've been sick at WDW was when we went in December.....Interesting coincidence! :laughing: It was NOT fun...I kept chugging OJ hoping that it would help me feel better but it didn't. Sore throat, fever, congestion....ugh, it was terrible. We went to AK one morning and left after like 2 hours because I was just miserable.

[KatMark]

Jen, so sorry you started feeling sick at DW; and I can't believe you had rain again on your trip. :sad2: The pictures of all the Christmas decorations are lovely, and I relaly like the photopass picture of you and Brandon.

[xoktenox]

Wow, FL weather is just crazy! I'm glad you were able to get some breaks of sun through the rain!

Isn't that caramel corn from Karamel Kuche just the best? We tried some in June and it was just perfect and soft and sweet. YUM!

I'm positive you posted where you were going to eat this night but I definitely forgot...so it's like I'm waiting in suspense now to hear about your evening :laughing:

[TanzUnited99]

Happy New Year! :goodvibes

Lol at being stopped at the airport over a Christmas tree! :lmao: I'm glad once it was out of the bag you managed to get through security pretty easily.

Yay on finally getting to try The Holiday Sandwich and it being everything you imagined it to be :lovestruc

Love your window decoration.

Oh no not feeling well and then it raining as well - not a way you want to start your vacation :( I love the pics of Epcot with all the Christmas decorations.

I still have to try that caramel popcorn but everyone says it is soo good!

[Nermel9]

You know, now that I think about it....the one and only time I've been sick at WDW was when we went in December.....Interesting coincidence! :laughing: It was NOT fun...I kept chugging OJ hoping that it would help me feel better but it didn't. Sore throat, fever, congestion....ugh, it was terrible. We went to AK one morning and left after like 2 hours because I was just miserable.

Haha, yeah, I was taking Vitamin C like a crazy person and drinking tons of tea, but I just kept feeling worse. Oh well, I'm actually kind of glad if I DID have to be sick at Disney, it happened on a short trip! :confused3 :laughing:

Jen, so sorry you started feeling sick at DW; and I can't believe you had rain again on your trip. :sad2: The pictures of all the Christmas decorations are lovely, and I relaly like the photopass picture of you and Brandon.

Thanks, it was pretty annoying to be sick, but I'm glad I still felt decent enough to go to the parks! I love the Christmas decorations, I'm actually starting to WANT to go to Disney on Christmas day...never thought I'd say that, but I think it would be SO amazing! :love:

Wow, FL weather is just crazy! I'm glad you were able to get some breaks of sun through the rain!

Isn't that caramel corn from Karamel Kuche just the best? We tried some in June and it was just perfect and soft and sweet. YUM!

I'm positive you posted where you were going to eat this night but I definitely forgot...so it's like I'm waiting in suspense now to hear about your evening :laughing:

The weather wasn't too terrible, it did rain every single day we were there, but the sun was also out and it wasn't too hot! :thumbsup2

I loved that caramel popcorn, I could not believe how soft it was! I was kind of nervous about it, I thought it would be hard and I'd break a tooth or something, but it was so fluffy! I wish you could get it shipped home! :lovestruc

I did post in my little mini-PTR where we were eating that night, we ate at Tony's! I don't want to say anything about it now, though, I'll wait til my next update...:rolleyes1

Happy New Year! :goodvibes

Lol at being stopped at the airport over a Christmas tree! :lmao: I'm glad once it was out of the bag you managed to get through security pretty easily.

Yay on finally getting to try The Holiday Sandwich and it being everything you imagined it to be :lovestruc

Love your window decoration.

Oh no not feeling well and then it raining as well - not a way you want to start your vacation :( I love the pics of Epcot with all the Christmas decorations.

I still have to try that caramel popcorn but everyone says it is soo good!

Hey, where have you been? Happy New Year! :yay:

Haha, yeah, it was pretty funny being stopped because of my little tree! I suppose I can see how they thought it was a weapon, though!

OMG that Holiday Sandwich was the best thing ever...I would love one right now!

Yeah, being sick was no fun, and the rain kind of made me feel worse, but I tried to make the best of it! I got a bit whiney at times, but I tried to keep that at a minimum! :rotfl2:

[dara00]

hi, joining in! your tr so far just gave me a flashback to I think it was the 2nd time I was in wdw, I got a bad cold. my dad gave me some cold medicine which cleared my nose right up, but put me to sleep on various epcot attractions! (some movie or something!)

[Mrs T 2009]

I love when it rains, but I hate when it rains in WDW LOL ;)

Karmel Kuche is wonderful and that carmel popcorn looked delish!

Hope you and Brandon had a good new years :)

[Dugette]

Catching up...

Add me to the group that has pictures of the airport Christmas tree! :rotfl:

Very nice window decorations! :thumbsup2

Earl of Sandwich was insanely crowded on our last trip too...we basically had to stalk tables to get one as someone left. Anyway, we tried the Holiday Sandwich too...very tasty!

Sorry that the weather was a mess on this trip too. I know what you mean about the October downpours (in the middle of our trip) and I'm glad it wasn't at that level this time. That was crazy! :eek:

That caramel corn in Germany is the best I've had! Yum!

Sorry you were feeling sick, though. Being sick and having to change your plans at WDW is the worst. :sad2:

[amazingact21]

Finally caught up on this TR. There's nothing worse than being sick at WDW. All you wanna do is rest but you can't stop thinking about how much you're missing and how much money you're wasting. :sad2: I'm sorry that you were coming down with something during this visit.

Epcot at Christmas is so nice. But wow...that line sounds ridiculous for CP. Alex joked that he wanted to see NPH narrate, but we both kind of figured it would be completely packed. But yeesh...


I laughed at the Christmas tree incident at the airport. I could just imagine airport security's reaction when they pulled out a tiny silver tree out of your bag. :rotfl:


Your window looked awesome, by the way, loved the lights!

[Nermel9]

hi, joining in! your tr so far just gave me a flashback to I think it was the 2nd time I was in wdw, I got a bad cold. my dad gave me some cold medicine which cleared my nose right up, but put me to sleep on various epcot attractions! (some movie or something!)

Hi, welcome, thanks for joining! :cool1: Ugh, being sick at Disney is so awful! Haha, can't believe you fell asleep at Epcot! Although I've definitely wanted to take a nap during Hall of Presidents a few times, so I can see how it's possible! :laughing:

I love when it rains, but I hate when it rains in WDW LOL ;)

Karmel Kuche is wonderful and that carmel popcorn looked delish!

Hope you and Brandon had a good new years :)

Haha, I know, right? I think a nice, 30 minute rain shower in 90 degree weather must be nice, but who wants rain in December?

That popcorn was amazing, I really wish I could bring some home next time!

Thank you, hope you had a nice New Years as well! :)

Catching up...

Add me to the group that has pictures of the airport Christmas tree! :rotfl:

Very nice window decorations! :thumbsup2

Earl of Sandwich was insanely crowded on our last trip too...we basically had to stalk tables to get one as someone left. Anyway, we tried the Holiday Sandwich too...very tasty!

Sorry that the weather was a mess on this trip too. I know what you mean about the October downpours (in the middle of our trip) and I'm glad it wasn't at that level this time. That was crazy! :eek:

That caramel corn in Germany is the best I've had! Yum!

Sorry you were feeling sick, though. Being sick and having to change your plans at WDW is the worst. :sad2:

Thanks! Haha, I had to stalk tables at EoS while Brandon waited, luckily no one wanted to sit over at the counter where we found seats, so that was fine with us! I love that Holiday Sandwich!! :cool1:

The rain was crazy in October! Luckily it only rained the last 2 days of our trip but once it started, it did not stop!! :scared1: It wasn't like that in December, but it was annoying! :rotfl:

It was horrible being sick at Disney and not having the energy to do as much as I would have wanted, but I'm glad I could still go to the parks! Most of the time when I'm sick, I just want to be in bed!

Finally caught up on this TR. There's nothing worse than being sick at WDW. All you wanna do is rest but you can't stop thinking about how much you're missing and how much money you're wasting. :sad2: I'm sorry that you were coming down with something during this visit.

Epcot at Christmas is so nice. But wow...that line sounds ridiculous for CP. Alex joked that he wanted to see NPH narrate, but we both kind of figured it would be completely packed. But yeesh...

I laughed at the Christmas tree incident at the airport. I could just imagine airport security's reaction when they pulled out a tiny silver tree out of your bag. :rotfl:

Your window looked awesome, by the way, loved the lights!

I had a strange feeling I'd be sick on this trip, everyone was sick around me before we left, so I knew I wouldn't escape it! :confused3 It wasn't terrible, it was just a cold, but it lasted for almost 2 weeks! And now, if I wake up with the sniffles, I'm like "OMG I'm gonna be sick for another 2 weeks!!!" I HATE being sick! :laughing:

The CP lines were so crazy! I can't believe that many people wanted to see NPH! I feel like if I ever want to see the CP again and don't want to pay for the dinner package, I'm just going to stand outside of the theater and watch, because you can still see and hear the whole thing!

Haha, yeah, I'm sure that security guy thought I was kind of crazy when I asked if my tree was the problem, but he was very nice about it! :rotfl:

Thanks, I love those lights too, I wish I could have them up all year!

[Nermel9]

Think of Christmas, Think of Snow

12/10 Saturday

When we left off, we were headed back to Pop to rest a little before our night at MK! I was hoping to sleep for a little while and wake up and feel better, except the opposite happened-I slept for maybe 30 minutes, woke up and felt worse! :sad1: My throat was killing me, my nose was completely stuffed up, and I just felt awful. And you know that thing that hangs in the back of your throat? It was totally swollen, and it was just so uncomfortable trying to talk. It was at this point that I began taking Advil every 4 hours, it was the only way I could function. I could deal with the stuffed nose, but the throat thing was starting to be an issue. The Advil at least made it stop hurting and made it a little less swollen.

However, even with all of this, I was still ready to go to MK! I just wanted to go to Everything Pop for a minute to grab some cough drops, so we left our room, admired our window in the dark:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010272.jpg

(I have better pics at the end of the TR, but at least you can see the lights in this one!)

went down the giant bowling pin stairs and walked over to Everything Pop to get my cough drops. It was nice having a preferred room because Classic Hall was just SO close, and then the parking lot to our car was maybe a 2 minute walk from there!

On our way over to MK, I opened my Star Wars Vinylmation, because when I bought it in Epcot, I left it in the car when we went back to the room, and got:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010274.jpg

Luke. I love Star Wars, I know Luke is supposed to be the hero, but I'm more of a Darth Vader girl, I was really hoping to get him! Well, at least I had one to trade now!

When we got to MK, I finally got to see the new themed parking lots, the Villains and Heroes. Because I am such a loser and love everything Disney, I was actually excited to see these in person. We were being directed to the Villains side:

"Yay, I wonder what Villain we'll get"

"Ooooh, I can't wait!"

If you are guessing that the second comment was made by Brandon, and that he was being sarcastic, you would be correct. Sometimes I wonder how I married such a non-enthusiastic-for-Disney person. :sad2: Although, to be fair, I can't see too many men getting excited over a parking lot, no matter how much they love Disney.

Anyway, we parked in Scar, hopped on the tram and went over to the TTC, then ran straight to the monorail to get to MK! I don't remember much about that monorail ride, except looking to see the castle all lit up for the first time. I always want to take pictures on the monorail, but I'm usually too excited...being on the monorail usually means we're going to the Magic Kingdom, which means I'm pretty much dying because I'm SO happy. :woohoo: Taking pictures is the last thing on my mind.

The MK entrance looked beautiful. I hate how once you get off that monorail, you are held up by so many obstacles before you can get in! Wait for 10 million people to have their bags checked, then wait for 10 million people to go through the turnstiles, then you have about 8 million people who don't know HOW to put their ticket in and put their finger on the little scanner...God bless those CM's, I would lose my patience after like, an hour of that nonsense!

Finally we were in, and I tried to get a picture of the entrance, but there were too many people in the way, so this was the best I could do:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010278.jpg

We made our way in and everyone was already lined up for the Electrical parade that was going to begin soon. I just wanted to get through the mess of people to get to Main Street to see the castle and OH MY GOD, THERE IT IS!!!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010279.jpg

The Magic Kingdom Christmas tree! We've taken two Christmas Disney trips before this, but they have both been in November, so the MK tree was never up, since it doesn't go up until after the parade taping, which I always thought was so unfair! So seeing in in real life was amazing for me, it was just as beautiful as I thought it would be!

I admired the tree for a few minutes and then turned around and saw the most perfect sight in all of Disney:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010280.jpg
:love:


I can't even explain how much I love that view down Main Street, with all the Christmas decorations, and the castle...how everyone on Main Street doesn't have tears running down their faces is beyond me, because I have to hold mine back when I see that amazing view. Christmas and Disney are my 2 favorite things in life, so being there for Christmas is pretty much a dream come true. I remember watching those Travel Channel Disney at Christmas shows and wondering if I would ever get to go during Christmas...now I can't imagine not going during that time.

As much as I would have liked to just stand on Main Street all night, I could tell Brandon was getting a little bored, and we still had some time before we had to check in to Tony's for dinner, so we went in the stores along Main Street.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010282.jpg
Want.


(Ok, totally off topic here, but how perfect is Tiana's dress? Not her green princess dress, although that one is probably my favorite of all the princess dresses, the one she borrows at the party, when she meets Naveen as a frog? It is SO beautiful! If I was ever to become famous and had to go to the Oscars or something, I'd ask for a replica of that dress.)

We walked around the shops for a little while, then finally around 7:25 we figured it was close enough to 7:45 to check in to Tony's. Tony's was crazy, there were so many people waiting, I think we were seated at exactly 7:45, but it seemed like we were waiting forever!

I already knew I wanted the chicken parm, but Brandon had no idea what he wanted. The last time we were here he got something with fish that he really liked, so I assumed he would get that, but he wanted to try something different, so he got the lasagna. I considered getting that for a minute too, because it sounds so good, but I stuck with my chicken parm.

Good thing I did, because he HATED the lasagna. Hated it. I thought he was being a little ridiculous, so I tried it and it was absolutely disgusting. It tasted kind of like dirt. I asked him if he wanted half of my chicken and he said no, he would just eat his lasagna. I told him to send it back, but by then he just didn't care and wanted to get out of there. :sad2: Since we were not on the DDP this time, we skipped dessert, paid our check and left. My chicken was good, but that lasagna was awful, it was so disappointing, because we were really looking forward to Tony's again, and after that, it's become a restaurant that we're just not going to bother with for a while. If we want Italian, we'll stick with Via Napoli, I guess, or even Mama Melrose.

When we came out of Tony's the Electrical Parade was either starting, or finishing, I can't remember, but they had that little secret passage way open so you could go behind the buildings of Main Street and come out near the Tomorrowland Terrace. I love walking back there and peeking in all the buildings! You know what we saw back there? A meat locker! Strange, right? Just not what you expect to see in MK! :rotfl:

Since we were near Tomorrowland, we grabbed fast passes to Space Mountain for later, and then went over to the Haunted Mansion. We were doing the holiday sleigh ride that night in Fort Wilderness at 10:30, but it was still pretty early so we wanted to do one quick ride before we went over to the boat, and Haunted Mansion was it!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010286.jpg

It was a pretty short wait, and we got right on, and everything was going great until...we got stuck! And guess where we got stuck? Right in front of her

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/IMG_0997.jpg

Isn't that so scary? I took a bunch of pictures of her (with my phone, no flash, don't worry!) and after a few minutes, I couldn't look at her anymore, it seemed like she was staring right at me! I don't usually get creeped out like that, but it was starting to get uncomfortable!

Finally we started moving again we finished up our journey in the Haunted Mansion! On our way out, I stopped to look at the pet cemetery, but it was too dark to see way in the back.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010287.jpg

Finally it was around 9:30 and we made our way over to the boat docks to wait for a boat to Fort Wilderness for our holiday sleigh ride! I was so excited to do this, I've been wanting to check out the Christmas decorations at the Fort for a while, and now we could finally see them!

Now if only a boat would come...

Up next...will we ever make it to the Fort???

[marDgreen88]

Oh no! Wow, I hope your sickness didn't last. That's just so sad.

I LOVE those Mickey lights! Omg I want some, they are too cute.

Hahahha the Luke Skywalker vinylmation is so funny! I mean the thing about it is that if you didn't know it was supposed to be Star Wars, you'd be like... what the heck is this? I can totally understand wanting Darth Vader... OR LIKE CHEWBACCA!

I FEEL THE SAME WAY! Christmas and Disney are my favorite things too! :love:

OMG I GOT STUCK WITH THE CREEPY BRIDE TOO! She scares me so much! I'm a wimp though so... hahah.

I bet your sleigh ride was awesome! Sounds so cute!

[SoNotAPrincess]

Wow! You're really bustin' out these updates...you, go, girl! :thumbsup2

I'm so sorry you were sick, but I love that it didn't squelch your joy of being at Disney at Christmas. And BTW, super-mondo awesome photo of the Castle (which should always be capitalized) and Main Street decorations!

I want the Mickey lights you put around your window, but I'd be so tempted to keep them up all year 'round! Which is completely normal, right? :rotfl:

[Merida]

Haha, no, I think you're right, most of the Disney trees sparkle! :lovestruc They're all so pretty when they are lit up!

See, I just don't get waiting in line when you do the dinner package, unless you really want to be in the front row or something! We did the dinner package and went in right before the CP started, and got great seats! :confused3 The standby lines are insane!

I got Luke Skywalker, I opened him in the car on the way to MK that night so you'll see a picture in a future update! :laughing: You can trade Vinyls in Epcot in a few places-the Mission Space store, those stores right at the beginning of the World Showcase, and I want to say the Figment store, (but I could be wrong about that one)...I think you can find a list online somewhere of where you can trade them in each park! :thumbsup2

Whew! I was like, hmmm, did I just imagine all that? Is my eyesight really that terrible? I missed the 'islands' part of 'Islands of Adventure' apparently so there is precedent for me just making things up!

Yeah, I don't mind interesting lines but the CP lines are just so boring. And sometimes you see the show before you! Why wait through a show in line and then again sitting down?

Aw, I have a soft spot for Luke that's developed over the past few viewings. I'm not sure why because he used to really annoy me - probably because he's WAY better and less annoying than Anakin in the prequels.

Thanks! We'll have to keep an eye out for more in-park trades next time. I felt that DTD (D-Street and World of Disney) had more variety in the trade boxes but they were really strict about trading rules.

Think of Christmas, Think of Snow


I love the window lights! They are Mickey-shaped, right? I'm supposed to be on the lookout for fun decorations for our next Christmas trip and there's just so many fun things. Everyone gets really creative :)

Way to pick the worst outfit for Luke! I mean, he looks like Safari Luke. Couldn't they have done something more Jedi-robe-y? Or his black 'I-am-serious-Luke' outfit from Empire Strikes Back?

I love the parking lot names but we would always forget our number. We parked in Jafar our first day and we were forever thinking we were still in that block. They need better signage!

I love the winter Castle. The lights are amazing and totally worth having the crane up. I wish the colors would cycle faster, and I miss orange Castle, but the lights are a pretty fair trade-off I think!

Tiana's blue dress is so pretty! Totally unfair for them to do all the promos with that dress and then it's only in the movie for, like, thirty seconds. And then everyone forgets about it! The green dress is nice too.. but it must be so bulky and annoying to walk around in. Blue dress is way more practical (for a ball gown :)).

I read some criticism about how Haunted Mansion got scarier but I think, overall, I really liked the 'new' HM. I definitely wouldn't want to be stuck in front of the Bride though! And the (new?) pet ceremony is pretty cool.

[archdandy]

Ooooh Haunted Mansion is one of my favorite attractions :goodvibes It was the first ride that me and DH went on together at Disney and I think that's when he fell in love (not with me, with Disney! :rotfl:). It stinks that it rained and you were sick but you got to see Disney at Christmas time :lovestruc

[kittylady1972]

Oh LOVE the photos and totally agree with just being able to see the castle lit up at night for Christmas. On one trip I made a special trip over there after dinner on evening because I just HAD to see it...and DH and his family wanted to go back to the room and sleep. It was totally worth it. I need MORE evenings at MK in my life for sure...especially at Christmas!

So sad to hear that Tony's was disappointing. I must say we have eaten there once and just really weren't impressed. This week as I was making my ADRs for my March trip (so close!) I really wanted to find someplace in MK but just can't bring myself to book that one because I'm afraid it would be bad. Instead I'm sticking to maybe just a restaurant in a resort on the monorail...because I just have to spend my LAST night in Disney at MK for a while! :)

[mickeysmyboy]

Signing on!!

First, woo hoo for a jetta!!! Long ago before I became a mom of 2 (well before I became a mom of 3) I had a beautiful, adorable little white jetta! I LOVED that car!

UGH for not feeling well and the rain!

I have a picture of one of those tacky trees I think! A poinsettia tree with green and white plants? Like Spider Plants?! Yeah, I took a picture of it cause it thought it was odd! I like the plan poinsettia trees at MK much better!

Yuck! Your DH’s dinner at Tony’s sounds awful!!! What a terrible first meal! I hope you better dining experiences after that!

OMG! Your HM bride picture is crazy creepy!! Scary!!!

Oh no! I hope the boat came! DH and I did the carriage ride at FW last month! We loved it!

[ronnmel]

Ahhhh man, your sickness was just getting worse and worse. Being sick is never fun, but being sick in Disney must really suck!

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I have no idea what the thing in the back of your throat is called either. One time when I was little one of my friend's sisters got a bit of pistachio shell stuck actually on that thing! And we had the hardest time telling people what the problem was, because no one was understanding where the shell was. We got it eventually though! :thumbsup2

The MK all decorated for the holidays truly is just magical. I love that view down Main Street. How weird that you saw the MK meat lockers though! :laughing:

I'm always trying to get a good non-flash picture of the bride, so I would have been excited to be stopped where you guys were for a good opportunity! But I can imagine that getting a bit creepy after, oh, 20 seconds! :laughing:

[Merida]

I have no idea what the thing in the back of your throat is called either.

Epiglottis (I learned this from that Monster House movie - no shame! Also the only part that I know. ;))?

[Simba22]

IDK why that happens! You feel like crap so you try to get some sleep and just end up making things worse! Happens to me all the time! I hate that!

The one and only time we're been to Tony's was in 2007. It was horrible! When I was making our ADR list for July I kept trying to convince myself to schedule dinner at Tony's so we wouldn't have to leave MK, but I just couldn't do it. Why bring my whole family to a place I hate, just for the sake of convenience?

your pics of the entryway and The Castle are gorgeous! I've never seen The Castle like in person but I can't bring myself to go again in December when October is just so much fun! :goodvibes

And yeah, I would have preferred Darth Vader too! I actually thought the Luke you got was Han Solo...bad choice of outfit there! :laughing: I think I'm going to try and convince Lumar to go to Westfarms tomorrow so we can buy more Vinyls....I didn't want to start buying them because I knew I'd get addicted! :rotfl:

[Nermel9]

Oh no! Wow, I hope your sickness didn't last. That's just so sad.

I LOVE those Mickey lights! Omg I want some, they are too cute.

Hahahha the Luke Skywalker vinylmation is so funny! I mean the thing about it is that if you didn't know it was supposed to be Star Wars, you'd be like... what the heck is this? I can totally understand wanting Darth Vader... OR LIKE CHEWBACCA!

I FEEL THE SAME WAY! Christmas and Disney are my favorite things too! :love:

OMG I GOT STUCK WITH THE CREEPY BRIDE TOO! She scares me so much! I'm a wimp though so... hahah.

I bet your sleigh ride was awesome! Sounds so cute!

Ugh, well, I was sick for 2 weeks once I got sick in Disney, so it lasted for a while! I don't get sick very much, but when I do, it takes forever to go away! :sad2:

I love Star Wars, and when I opened I did say "who the *&#^ is this?" :laughing: It was my DH who said it was Luke, so I just took his word for it! I'm actually not even sure it is Luke! :confused3 I wish I got Chewy, that would be awesome! If they still have the SW Vinyls when I go back in the Fall, I'm going to buy like 10 of them so I get the ones I want! :rotfl:

There's nothing better than Christmas and Disney! I'm so sad Christmas is already over!

That bride was totally scary, being stuck in front of her, she kept looking at me! I had to keep looking away! :scared1:

Wow! You're really bustin' out these updates...you, go, girl! :thumbsup2

I'm so sorry you were sick, but I love that it didn't squelch your joy of being at Disney at Christmas. And BTW, super-mondo awesome photo of the Castle (which should always be capitalized) and Main Street decorations!

I want the Mickey lights you put around your window, but I'd be so tempted to keep them up all year 'round! Which is completely normal, right? :rotfl:

Haha, you think so? I feel like I'm taking forever! :laughing:

Yeah, it was pretty annoying being sick, but I guess it could have been worse! :confused3

I want to keep those lights up all year too, which is why I had to put them away in a drawer, so I wouldn't be tempted! :laughing:

Whew! I was like, hmmm, did I just imagine all that? Is my eyesight really that terrible? I missed the 'islands' part of 'Islands of Adventure' apparently so there is precedent for me just making things up!

Yeah, I don't mind interesting lines but the CP lines are just so boring. And sometimes you see the show before you! Why wait through a show in line and then again sitting down?

Aw, I have a soft spot for Luke that's developed over the past few viewings. I'm not sure why because he used to really annoy me - probably because he's WAY better and less annoying than Anakin in the prequels.

Thanks! We'll have to keep an eye out for more in-park trades next time. I felt that DTD (D-Street and World of Disney) had more variety in the trade boxes but they were really strict about trading rules.

I love the window lights! They are Mickey-shaped, right? I'm supposed to be on the lookout for fun decorations for our next Christmas trip and there's just so many fun things. Everyone gets really creative :)

Way to pick the worst outfit for Luke! I mean, he looks like Safari Luke. Couldn't they have done something more Jedi-robe-y? Or his black 'I-am-serious-Luke' outfit from Empire Strikes Back?

I love the parking lot names but we would always forget our number. We parked in Jafar our first day and we were forever thinking we were still in that block. They need better signage!

I love the winter Castle. The lights are amazing and totally worth having the crane up. I wish the colors would cycle faster, and I miss orange Castle, but the lights are a pretty fair trade-off I think!

Tiana's blue dress is so pretty! Totally unfair for them to do all the promos with that dress and then it's only in the movie for, like, thirty seconds. And then everyone forgets about it! The green dress is nice too.. but it must be so bulky and annoying to walk around in. Blue dress is way more practical (for a ball gown :)).

I read some criticism about how Haunted Mansion got scarier but I think, overall, I really liked the 'new' HM. I definitely wouldn't want to be stuck in front of the Bride though! And the (new?) pet ceremony is pretty cool.

I don't mind Luke, especially compared to Anakin, but I prefer Darth Vader. Or Han. Or the Ewoks. :laughing:

I went to D-Street and they are definitely strict about trading! They kind of take the fun out of it. And that place annoyed me, they have like every Vinyl ever made, but you can't buy them? Then what's the point? :confused3 I'll probably stick with trading in the parks. Oh, and you can trade at the shops in the resorts too!

Thanks, I love those lights, they are Mickey shaped! I wish we were going during Christmas again this year, just to decorate a window, it's so much fun!

Haha, like I said in an earlier response, I'm not 100% sure that's even Luke, I'm just going by what my DH said! I mean, I guess it could be, but you're right, why would they put him in that outfit? I might have to do some research on this one...:rolleyes1

Tiana's blue dress is so pretty, I wish that was her official dress! I do love the green one, but the blue one is so different from all of the other princesses. I guess she can't have blue, since Cinderella does. I think every princess needs their own color or something. :confused3

I don't think HM is scarier...the ghosts at the end are like cartoons! However, that bride is really scary when you are stuck in front of her, she really looks right at you, it's horrible! :laughing:

Ooooh Haunted Mansion is one of my favorite attractions :goodvibes It was the first ride that me and DH went on together at Disney and I think that's when he fell in love (not with me, with Disney! :rotfl:). It stinks that it rained and you were sick but you got to see Disney at Christmas time :lovestruc

Wow I'm impressed you can remember what attraction you first went on with your DH! I wish I could remember the first one I went on with Brandon was...I'm guessing it was EE, since AK was our first Disney park together, and I think we went straight to EE! :confused3 Yeah, being sick was not fun, but you're right, I was still glad to be there during Christmas! :thumbsup2

Oh LOVE the photos and totally agree with just being able to see the castle lit up at night for Christmas. On one trip I made a special trip over there after dinner on evening because I just HAD to see it...and DH and his family wanted to go back to the room and sleep. It was totally worth it. I need MORE evenings at MK in my life for sure...especially at Christmas!

So sad to hear that Tony's was disappointing. I must say we have eaten there once and just really weren't impressed. This week as I was making my ADRs for my March trip (so close!) I really wanted to find someplace in MK but just can't bring myself to book that one because I'm afraid it would be bad. Instead I'm sticking to maybe just a restaurant in a resort on the monorail...because I just have to spend my LAST night in Disney at MK for a while! :)

Thanks! The whole reason for this trip was to see the Castle lit up, and to see the Osborne Lights! :rotfl: I'm kind of rethinking going back in the Fall because...I NEED to go for Christmas!

We ate at Tony's on our Disneymoon and really liked it, which is why we were excited to go back, and it was just awful this time! I agree, I think we will be doing resort restaurants on MK nights from now on, unless we do LTT, but I like that better for lunch than dinner!

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

OMG, YES! The lasagna from Tony's is the TERRIBLE!! Worst dining experience at Disney EVER!

[Nermel9]

Signing on!!

First, woo hoo for a jetta!!! Long ago before I became a mom of 2 (well before I became a mom of 3) I had a beautiful, adorable little white jetta! I LOVED that car!

UGH for not feeling well and the rain!

I have a picture of one of those tacky trees I think! A poinsettia tree with green and white plants? Like Spider Plants?! Yeah, I took a picture of it cause it thought it was odd! I like the plan poinsettia trees at MK much better!

Yuck! Your DH’s dinner at Tony’s sounds awful!!! What a terrible first meal! I hope you better dining experiences after that!

OMG! Your HM bride picture is crazy creepy!! Scary!!!

Oh no! I hope the boat came! DH and I did the carriage ride at FW last month! We loved it!

Welcome, thanks for joining! :cool1:

I always wanted a Jetta! Apparently they are not very reliable though, and fixing VW's costs a lot of $$ so I got a nice, sensible Honda Civic instead. Jettas are so much cuter!

Being sick was annoying. If it was just the sniffles, I could have handled that, but it was my throat that was annoying me mostly, it would get so dry, and I'd have to keep popping cough drops, and the smell of cough drops just makes you feel like a sick person...ugh! :sad2:

I think the poinsettia trees at Epcot were just red, but they were placed in such a weird spot, like they just threw them there because they didn't know how to decorate the area! :confused3 I just expected more from Disney I guess, whenever I'd walk by them, I'd kind of scowl at them! :rotfl:

I'm surprised Tony's was so awful, it was our 2nd time there and the 1st time, we really liked it! :confused3

Ahhhh man, your sickness was just getting worse and worse. Being sick is never fun, but being sick in Disney must really suck!

Yeah, it does suck. I kept thinking I would feel better the next day, but nope. 2 freakin weeks of sickness! :sad1:

I have no idea what the thing in the back of your throat is called either. One time when I was little one of my friend's sisters got a bit of pistachio shell stuck actually on that thing! And we had the hardest time telling people what the problem was, because no one was understanding where the shell was. We got it eventually though! :thumbsup2

The MK all decorated for the holidays truly is just magical. I love that view down Main Street. How weird that you saw the MK meat lockers though! :laughing:

I'm always trying to get a good non-flash picture of the bride, so I would have been excited to be stopped where you guys were for a good opportunity! But I can imagine that getting a bit creepy after, oh, 20 seconds! :laughing:

OMG I can't imagine getting a pistachio shell stuck in your throat, that's awful! I hate when that thing gets swollen, it's so uncomfortable! It was like that for so long, I thought it would never go back to normal! :scared1:

I love MK at Christmas! I mean, I love it at any time of year, but Christmas especially, it's perfect! :lovestruc

I was excited to stop in front of the bride at first too, just to get a picture! But it got scary after a while, I had to look away from her! :rotfl2:

IDK why that happens! You feel like crap so you try to get some sleep and just end up making things worse! Happens to me all the time! I hate that!

The one and only time we're been to Tony's was in 2007. It was horrible! When I was making our ADR list for July I kept trying to convince myself to schedule dinner at Tony's so we wouldn't have to leave MK, but I just couldn't do it. Why bring my whole family to a place I hate, just for the sake of convenience?

your pics of the entryway and The Castle are gorgeous! I've never seen The Castle like in person but I can't bring myself to go again in December when October is just so much fun! :goodvibes

And yeah, I would have preferred Darth Vader too! I actually thought the Luke you got was Han Solo...bad choice of outfit there! :laughing: I think I'm going to try and convince Lumar to go to Westfarms tomorrow so we can buy more Vinyls....I didn't want to start buying them because I knew I'd get addicted! :rotfl:

Usually if I don't feel good, if I sleep I will feel better, but there was just nothing I could do at that point, I just had to wait it out. :sad2:

Why don't you do dinner at LTT? You won't have to leave MK, and the dinner is actually good there (although I prefer lunch, dinner is still really good)! There's also the Plaza, which I've heard good things about, although I think it's mostly sandwiches.

Haha, I like October too, but I prefer Disney at Christmas! Why, then, are we going in September this year and not December? I've been thinking that for a few days, but...I have those AP's and they expire in the beginning of October, which means we're going before then! Maybe I can talk Brandon into another quick Christmas trip this year! Yeah right! :rotfl:

I have no idea if that Vinyl is really Luke, I'm going to have to look that up! It's a strange outfit for him! Did you get my PM about Westfarms? Soooo annoying!!! :sad2:

[Nermel9]

OMG, YES! The lasagna from Tony's is the TERRIBLE!! Worst dining experience at Disney EVER!

Haha, when we were eating there, and Brandon was complaining about his lasagna, I thought of your TR and your bad experience at Tony's! Well, add us to the list of people never going back, I'm so done with that place! It's too bad, because it's SO cute, but there is no excuse for that lasagna being so awful, it seriously tasted like they dropped it in dirt and put it back on the plate! :rotfl:

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I love your window all lit up! It's so pretty and festive. :santa:

Yay! So glad you got to see the MK tree. When we went in November, I missed it too. I was so glad that it was still up on our January trip so that I could get the full effect.

Your Tony's experience scares me! We have an ADR there in February, and it's one of the ones that I am most worried about. I hear such mixed reviews, but it was the only place that seemed to work with our plans. I will definitely remember not to get the lasagna. :sick:

[pinkxray]

Think of Christmas, Think of Snow

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010280.jpg
:love:





What a great picture.It looks like your new camera is working out pretty good. Caitlin had the cheaper Lumix but she lost it about a week after we got home from the cruise. She managed to hold onto it for about 3 weeks:mad: I am determined to buy myself Canon Rebel next year but they are so freakin expensive. However with no vacations next year I might just do it.

If everything works out Caitin and I will be going the same weekend you did in 2013. Is it insanely busy? I don't want to pull her out of school too long so that only leaves the weekends, plus I want to go after the parade to see all of the decorations. I don't really mind crowds though since we grew up going during peak seasons. Although John won't be coming so I guess it won't really be an issue either way.

[xoktenox]

Wow, awesome shot of Main St. looking down at that gorgeous castle!! That is one of the best sights EVER in the history of anything I've ever looked at. I could probably stand at the train station and stare all night long :cloud9:

I'm so sorry your sickness was getting worse :(

Oh man, Tony's :headache: at least your chicken was good but poor Brandon! He should have sent it back but he was probably just annoyed.

Excited to hear about your sleigh ride!

[Mrs T 2009]

Tony's is always hit and miss with us. We have eaten there twice and only once by choice. Second was necessity because our son was starving and we were not going to end up making it to our planned ADR on time :(

I get so sad hearing about your being sick :( I dislike being sick so much and dislike it even more when others are sick!

Your window still looks so awesome!!! :D

[Simba22]

Usually if I don't feel good, if I sleep I will feel better, but there was just nothing I could do at that point, I just had to wait it out. :sad2:

Why don't you do dinner at LTT? You won't have to leave MK, and the dinner is actually good there (although I prefer lunch, dinner is still really good)! There's also the Plaza, which I've heard good things about, although I think it's mostly sandwiches.

Haha, I like October too, but I prefer Disney at Christmas! Why, then, are we going in September this year and not December? I've been thinking that for a few days, but...I have those AP's and they expire in the beginning of October, which means we're going before then! Maybe I can talk Brandon into another quick Christmas trip this year! Yeah right! :rotfl:

I have no idea if that Vinyl is really Luke, I'm going to have to look that up! It's a strange outfit for him! Did you get my PM about Westfarms? Soooo annoying!!! :sad2:

Sleeping always seems to make things worse for me when I'm at the beginning of a cold. I don't know why!

We ate at LTT for dinner back in 2007 and it was good but I wasn't crazy enough about it to go back. And I LOVE The Plaza but Lumar is so-so about it. But we like Ohana and since we'll have a big group, we figured that would be fine since we can get right back to MK after we eat.

I heart October in WDW :lovestruc I wish we could go THIS October (I have a feeling that after spending the week with my siblings/cousins this July, I'm going to be in dire need of a bounce-back!) but I don't think we can swing that.

I'm thinking about calling The Disney Store this week to ask about whether or not they are still selling Vinylmations...I would hate it if they stopped but at the same time, that would be beneficial to my limited finances :laughing:

[klacey1]

Oh yuck-- sorry Brandon's lasagna wasn't good!! I've heard such mixed things about Tony's, too. We were eh about our dinner at LTT and have zero interest in the other MK TS places, so like you, we'll probably stick with resort dining in the future when we're going to be at the MK at night. At least there's plenty of options!
Your pictures are beautiful-- you're right, Christmas and Disney is the most magical combination in the world!

[Nermel9]

I love your window all lit up! It's so pretty and festive. :santa:

Yay! So glad you got to see the MK tree. When we went in November, I missed it too. I was so glad that it was still up on our January trip so that I could get the full effect.

Your Tony's experience scares me! We have an ADR there in February, and it's one of the ones that I am most worried about. I hear such mixed reviews, but it was the only place that seemed to work with our plans. I will definitely remember not to get the lasagna. :sick:

Thanks!

The MK tree was really pretty, but I still like the Epcot tree better! Actually, I like the one near the American Adventure the best, it's just so red! :banana:

I liked Tony's on our Disneymoon, and I actually thought my chicken parm this time was good but it wasn't great, Mama Melrose is much better! I think you will be ok at Tony's just don't get the lasagna! :rotfl:

What a great picture.It looks like your new camera is working out pretty good. Caitlin had the cheaper Lumix but she lost it about a week after we got home from the cruise. She managed to hold onto it for about 3 weeks:mad: I am determined to buy myself Canon Rebel next year but they are so freakin expensive. However with no vacations next year I might just do it.

If everything works out Caitin and I will be going the same weekend you did in 2013. Is it insanely busy? I don't want to pull her out of school too long so that only leaves the weekends, plus I want to go after the parade to see all of the decorations. I don't really mind crowds though since we grew up going during peak seasons. Although John won't be coming so I guess it won't really be an issue either way.

I want a Canon Rebel too, but I wouldn't know how to use one. :confused3 I want a real camera someday, but since I just bought that Lumix, I'll stick with that for now, I guess.

This weekend wasn't busy at all, I mean, the popular rides were, like you would expect them to be, but it wasn't crazy. The Candlelight Processional is ridiculous without the dinner package, and I'm not sure how the Christmas parties were since we didn't go, but the parks were fine. I'm surprised John isn't going to go. I'd like to go again in December when I'm not sick, that was obnoxious. :sad2:

Wow, awesome shot of Main St. looking down at that gorgeous castle!! That is one of the best sights EVER in the history of anything I've ever looked at. I could probably stand at the train station and stare all night long :cloud9:

I'm so sorry your sickness was getting worse :(

Oh man, Tony's :headache: at least your chicken was good but poor Brandon! He should have sent it back but he was probably just annoyed.

Excited to hear about your sleigh ride!

Thank you! I love looking down Main Street at the castle with all the Christmas decorations! :lovestruc I don't know how I'm going to get through NOT going this year at Christmas! :sad1:

I don't know why Brandon didn't send that lasagna back, I think at first he was trying to convince himself that he liked it! :laughing:

Tony's is always hit and miss with us. We have eaten there twice and only once by choice. Second was necessity because our son was starving and we were not going to end up making it to our planned ADR on time :(

I get so sad hearing about your being sick :( I dislike being sick so much and dislike it even more when others are sick!

Your window still looks so awesome!!! :D

I never really expected Tony's to be fantastic, but I certainly expect it to be edible at least! That lasagna is NOT! :laughing:

Aww, thanks! Being sick is awful, I hate reading TR's where the person is sick, and now that person is me! :rotfl:

Sleeping always seems to make things worse for me when I'm at the beginning of a cold. I don't know why!

We ate at LTT for dinner back in 2007 and it was good but I wasn't crazy enough about it to go back. And I LOVE The Plaza but Lumar is so-so about it. But we like Ohana and since we'll have a big group, we figured that would be fine since we can get right back to MK after we eat.

I heart October in WDW :lovestruc I wish we could go THIS October (I have a feeling that after spending the week with my siblings/cousins this July, I'm going to be in dire need of a bounce-back!) but I don't think we can swing that.

I'm thinking about calling The Disney Store this week to ask about whether or not they are still selling Vinylmations...I would hate it if they stopped but at the same time, that would be beneficial to my limited finances :laughing:

LTT is ok for dinner, but I really like the lunch! I like that you can choose what you want instead of them just giving you a bunch of stuff! 'Ohana will be fun, though, I love that place!

I'm still having trouble deciding when to go or what to do...one long trip, 2 short trips...who knows? I need to make a decision though, because if we're going in May I need to buy flights! :scared1:

I can't believe that about the Disney Store and the Vinyls...maybe they're not that popular outside of the parks! :confused3

Oh yuck-- sorry Brandon's lasagna wasn't good!! I've heard such mixed things about Tony's, too. We were eh about our dinner at LTT and have zero interest in the other MK TS places, so like you, we'll probably stick with resort dining in the future when we're going to be at the MK at night. At least there's plenty of options!
Your pictures are beautiful-- you're right, Christmas and Disney is the most magical combination in the world!

Haha, yeah it was pretty awful!:rotfl: I like LTT for lunch much better than dinner! Maybe the new place in the Beast's castle will be good! :thumbsup2 MK has such limited TS options!

Thanks, I love Disney and Christmas, it's so beautiful! :lovestruc

[TanzUnited99]

Oh no on feeling rotten and not getting much sleep :sad2:

The lights sure do look pretty in the dark :thumbsup2

Lol I love your description of the obstacles you have to face on the way into the park! :rotfl: I have to agree that the CMs sure do have the patience of a saint to deal with all that!

Wow the MK Christmas tree looks soo festive...it must have been amazing to see that in person :santa:

Good call to stick with the chicken and ugh at the lasagne tasting horrible :eek: Oh no at being stuck on HM and in front of something so scary!

Looking forward to reading about the sleigh ride at FW! :goodvibes

[Nermel9]

Oh no on feeling rotten and not getting much sleep :sad2:

The lights sure do look pretty in the dark :thumbsup2

Lol I love your description of the obstacles you have to face on the way into the park! :rotfl: I have to agree that the CMs sure do have the patience of a saint to deal with all that!

Wow the MK Christmas tree looks soo festive...it must have been amazing to see that in person :santa:

Good call to stick with the chicken and ugh at the lasagne tasting horrible :eek: Oh no at being stuck on HM and in front of something so scary!

Looking forward to reading about the sleigh ride at FW! :goodvibes

Thanks, I loved my Mickey lights, it was so nice coming back to our room and seeing them lit up!

The MK tree is so pretty! Tony's was awful, I'll be staying away from there in the future! :sad2:

I'm finally going to get to my sleigh ride update in a few minutes! :yay:

[Nermel9]

Sleigh Ride!!

Saturday 12/10

We arrived at the dock for the boat to Fort Wilderness around 9:30. Our sleigh ride was at 10:30 so I figured an hour was plenty of time to get over there. There was only one family in front of us, so I assumed a boat would be there in a few minutes. So we waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Brandon started getting annoyed there there was NO boat coming. Boats came and went for the Wilderness Lodge. We watched the ferry go back and forth like 10 times. The Water Pagent floated by. But no FW boat. Brandon suggested we just go to the car and drive, but I said that would take too long. The whole waiting area was full of people by that time.

FINALLY a boat came! We all piled in and impatiently waited to get going and dock at FW. After a very quick boat ride, we got off the boat, and I heard music, and saw lots of people standing around...

Then I realized, you can see Wishes from the beach!

"You can see Wishes from this beach, let's watch!"

So I stopped to watch for a second and realized the fireworks were way off in the distance, it seems like they were miles behind MK from that angle!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010289.jpg

It kind of bothered me that they were so far away so we just continued walking. We had no idea where to go, so we just followed everyone, they all seemed to be walking in the same direction!

There was a horse and carriage in front of us, so Brandon went up to them and asked where we get the sleigh ride, and she said right there! Well, that's lucky!

Brandon sat on a bench to wait for the carriages to come back, I guess they just left when we got there for the 10:00 ride, they were running a little behind schedule, so I walked around a little and looked at everything.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010292.jpg
So pretty! I loved this tree!


http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010293.jpg
Seems like we're in the right place!


The sleigh rides all came back at the same time and we were directed to our sleigh. Our driver was a guy, the only guy driver that I saw there, and I wish I remember his name, because he was SO nice, and told us so many stories! We hopped in, made ourselves comfortable, and went for our ride!

The driver told us our horse's name was John, and Brandon said "yeah, he looked familiar, we had him for the Haunted Carriage ride in October!" Strange that we got the same horse! The driver said he's very stubborn so he kind of lets him lead the way with the sleigh rides.

This is the only picture I got because we were moving, and they were coming out blurry:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010298.jpg

The decorations were amazing! People have been coming for years and have their own personal sites and everything...it's crazy how detailed these campsites are! I wish I had more pictures for you, but if you do a search, I'm sure you can find some!

Our driver chatted with us the whole time, which was nice, because I thought if he was quiet it might have been awkward, but it wasn't at all, he was so sweet and knew so much about Disney! He said he was a performer in the parades years ago, but hurt his knees so they sent him over to FW to work with the horses and he's been there ever since! Sounds like an awesome job!

Once our ride was over, our driver offered to take a picture of us in front of the horse, so we said sure!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010299.jpg

He took another one a little closer, but it's terrible, Brandon looks like he's going to claw my arm off, so that one will have to do! :laughing: I loved the Holiday Sleigh Ride, it was a lot of fun, I can't believe we did both in one year! I can't believe I got to this ride in this TR first and I'm still not even on the day of the Haunted Carriage Ride in the other TR! :rotfl:

We walked back to the dock and there was a boat letting people on, and we saw the very last people getting on, so we started running! The person who was letting people on told us we made it, so we stopped running and got right on...that was close, I didn't want to be waiting for so long again!

When we got back to MK around 11, the Main Street Electrical Parade was going on again!! Ugh, no escape! I swear, that music makes me feel like I'm going insane!! :rotfl: (I am SO ready for Spectro to be back...maybe when the new Fantasyland is opening we can get some Spectro?) We walked up Main Street on the sidewalk as quickly as possible and tried to get to Tomorrowland, but Brandon wanted to stop first and use the bathroom, so I took a lovely picture of the castle:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010301.jpg
:lovestruc


Once Brandon came back, we went to Tomorrowland to use our Space Mountain FP's, and had a bit of a wait even with the FP's, but it was much, much shorter than the standby line, which seemed really long for that time of night! Space was fun as always, I wasn't in the back which made me happy, I can't stand being in the back of Space anymore! :rotfl:

I wanted to go to Adventureland when we were finished, and since there were no parades or fireworks left, we could actually just walk through the hub and not get caught in a mob of people! First, though, I had to stop and admire the castle a little more:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010306.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010307.jpg

We went to Adventureland, went on Pirates, and then made our way back to Main Street. I didn't take any Adventureland pics, which is strange for me, since it's probably my favorite area in MK. I do remember being pretty tired at that point though, which is why we went to Main Street, I think we were getting ready to leave.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010310.jpg

However, as we started walking, Brandon all the sudden said "what is that, I want one of those!"

I looked around, had no clue what he was talking about, and said "what?"

He said "some guy had a huge ice cream cookie sandwich, there was ice cream all over the plate, I want one!"

"Ohhhh, ok, I know what you're talking about, those are at the Main Street Bakery"

So we went in the Main Street Bakery, and surprisingly, there wasn't much of a line, and there were tables available! The ice cream cookie sandwich wasn't on the menu, but I assured him he could get it here, and to just ask for it, and within minutes, he had this amazing looking ice cream cookie thing!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010311.jpg

I didn't get anything, I just shared with Brandon, and it was SO good! The cookie was so soft and the ice cream was so yummy, I was so tired at that point, but that snack revived me a little! :laughing: Finally got to go to the Main Street bakery! :thumbsup2

We finished up and headed out, but of course, I had to get one last picture of the tree...

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010312.jpg

and then one more picture of the entrance, without people this time!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/P1010314.jpg

We hopped on the tram, found our car and went back to Pop. I think we got back around 1am, and I was exhausted at that point! I couldn't wait to crawl into bed and go to sleep, I was hoping I'd feel better after a good night's sleep! Since we were kind of doing whatever on this trip, and didn't have plans for the days, just the night when we had our ADR's, we decided that night to go to Animal Kingdom the next morning!

Up next...Animal Kingdom, of course!

[DisneyFirefly]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who doesn't like MSEP! :lmao: Everyone else I know seems to love it, but I don't like it and want Spectro back :sad: Then again, I have so many good memories of dancing with my coworkers during the parade... That's probably why.

Anyway, the sleigh ride sounds fun! I'm glad you guys enjoyed it :)

[marDgreen88]

YAY update! :)
Ya know, I'd never want to stay at Fort Wilderness because honestly all I've ever heard about the transportation there is that it's terrible. That would drive me crazy waiting every single time!

The sleigh ride looks so cute! How fun. :thumbsup2

Mmmm the ice cream cookie looks GOOD.

[pinkxray]

The sleigh ride looks so cute. It must have been pretty cool to see all the decorations at FW. Did you like this one or the Haunted carriage ride better?

[dara00]

the ice cream looks awesome! you really just ask for it? how much does it cost?

I've never seen spectro, but I'm pretty excited for msep. I remember seeing it as a kid and all I remember is Pete's Dragon, but the pics I've been seeing lately have me looking forward to seeing it all!

[MEK]

Not sure how I ended up two updates behind. I guess because this week has been crazy.

OMG - the lasagna sounds terrible. He really should have sent it back. I do that now if I ever get something that is super nasty. I honestly think that's what you should do. I feel better after I do. Otherwise, I would just dwell on it. I'm like that.

Stuck in front of the bride. You are SO lucky.

More great night time pics. That candlelight setting is def doing the trick for you.

Sleigh ride sounds pretty cool, although a lot of frustration to get there. WOW - what a long, exhausting day.

[Simba22]

wow what a great night, you guys had! If it makes you feel any better (which it probably won't) when we to FW for the Haunted Carriage Ride, we waited FOREVER too and we took a bus!

[kittylady1972]

Sounds like an AWESOME evening to me! Love the photos and the sleigh ride sounds fun. I'll have to keep that in the back of my mind as a future TO-DO at Disney item!

[Nermel9]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who doesn't like MSEP! :lmao: Everyone else I know seems to love it, but I don't like it and want Spectro back :sad: Then again, I have so many good memories of dancing with my coworkers during the parade... That's probably why.

Anyway, the sleigh ride sounds fun! I'm glad you guys enjoyed it :)

Ugh, I thought when they brought back MSEP I'd like it, because I remember it from my childhood, but NO! Bring back Spectro! I keep hearing it might be coming back this year, if it does I might die of happiness! :)

YAY update! :)
Ya know, I'd never want to stay at Fort Wilderness because honestly all I've ever heard about the transportation there is that it's terrible. That would drive me crazy waiting every single time!

The sleigh ride looks so cute! How fun. :thumbsup2

Mmmm the ice cream cookie looks GOOD.

I couldn't believe the wait for the boat was so long, it seemed like we were standing there forever! Fort Wilderness is so adorable though, I'd love to stay in one of those cabins!

The sleigh ride was so much fun! And that cookie was fantastic! :cool1:

The sleigh ride looks so cute. It must have been pretty cool to see all the decorations at FW. Did you like this one or the Haunted carriage ride better?

I loved seeing the decorations at FW! I'm not sure which carriage ride was better, they were both kind of different...I think I'd probably say I liked the Haunted Carriage ride a little better, just because it has a story and you follow a specific path, and you see the headless horseman and everything, but I liked the sleigh ride almost as much! :santa:

the ice cream looks awesome! you really just ask for it? how much does it cost?

I've never seen spectro, but I'm pretty excited for msep. I remember seeing it as a kid and all I remember is Pete's Dragon, but the pics I've been seeing lately have me looking forward to seeing it all!

Yep, you just ask and they will make it! I don't remember how much it was, I think I walked away when Brandon was paying, but it was probably something crazy like $10 or something! You know Disney prices! :sad2: :laughing:

MSEP is cute, but the music is annoying! If the music was different I would enjoy it more but it just sounds like crazy circus music! The floats are really nice though, just try to block out the music! :rotfl:

Not sure how I ended up two updates behind. I guess because this week has been crazy.

OMG - the lasagna sounds terrible. He really should have sent it back. I do that now if I ever get something that is super nasty. I honestly think that's what you should do. I feel better after I do. Otherwise, I would just dwell on it. I'm like that.

Stuck in front of the bride. You are SO lucky.

More great night time pics. That candlelight setting is def doing the trick for you.

Sleigh ride sounds pretty cool, although a lot of frustration to get there. WOW - what a long, exhausting day.

I know he should have sent the lasagna back, but he waited til he was almost finished with it to say it was awful! At first he said it was ok! It almost seemed like he was nervous to insult Disney food in front of me! :rotfl: I don't care, I didn't make it! If it's not good, send it back!

Haha, I thought I was lucky for a few minutes, but then I just got scared she might kill me...she seriously looks right in your eyes! :eek:

Thanks! I love some of my pictures, although I don't like how the sky looks in some of them, I need to figure out how to edit that!

The sleigh ride was fun, but the wait for the boat was not...I try to be patient with Disney transportation, but after a while, you're like "COME ON ALREADY!!!" :laughing:

wow what a great night, you guys had! If it makes you feel any better (which it probably won't) when we to FW for the Haunted Carriage Ride, we waited FOREVER too and we took a bus!

Thanks! Haha, it does make me feel a little better! :rotfl2:

Sounds like an AWESOME evening to me! Love the photos and the sleigh ride sounds fun. I'll have to keep that in the back of my mind as a future TO-DO at Disney item!

Thanks! You should definitely do one of the carriage rides at FW, they are both a lot of fun! They're a nice little break from the parks! :banana:

[DisneyFirefly]

Ugh, I thought when they brought back MSEP I'd like it, because I remember it from my childhood, but NO! Bring back Spectro! I keep hearing it might be coming back this year, if it does I might die of happiness! :)

That would be fabulous! :yay: I think I'm so attached to Spectro because of the sheer number of times I saw it. It was also the first night MK parade I ever saw, since I never went as a kid.

[ronnmel]

The music from MSEP is. so. ANNOYING! Ugh! I cannot wait for them to bring back Spectro.

OMG, every time someone posts a picture of the castle with the Christmas lights I just about die and go to heaven. So amazingly pretty! :cloud9:

[Missyrose]

All caught up! Ugh, that sucks that you got sick right as you arrived at Disney! And having not read this before replying to your Disney dilemma on your other TR, maybe Brandon does need a bit of a Disney break. He doesn't seem to be enjoying much on this December trip.

I'm soooo glad you got to enjoy the sleigh ride, it sounds like so much fun! Dinner at Tony's sounded awful, and most reviews seem to point in that direction. Since people who enjoy meals at Tony's seem to be few and far between, I don't think I'll be trying it anytime soon. :lmao:

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip!

[Mrs T 2009]

Sounds like you had a wonderful night :D Glad you finally got a boat and the sleigh ride looked awesome :)

[Simba22]

Thanks! Haha, it does make me feel a little better! :rotfl2:


And to make matters worse, once we were FINALLY on the bus (which, BTW, we were the ONLY ONES on it besides the driver...) you then have to actually DRIVE to FW which is out in the middle of nowhere! You're on these long dark roads for what seems like forever...I swear I felt like we had been kidnapped and were somewhere out in the everglades about to be fed to a bunch of gators :laughing:

[Nermel9]

That would be fabulous! :yay: I think I'm so attached to Spectro because of the sheer number of times I saw it. It was also the first night MK parade I ever saw, since I never went as a kid.

I really hope they bring it back this year, I've seriously had enough of MSEP! :rotfl:

The music from MSEP is. so. ANNOYING! Ugh! I cannot wait for them to bring back Spectro.

OMG, every time someone posts a picture of the castle with the Christmas lights I just about die and go to heaven. So amazingly pretty! :cloud9:

I know, Spectro is so magical and MSEP is just obnoxious! :rotfl: I mean, the floats are very nice but it's just that music that makes me crazy!

The castle is so beautiful, isn't it! :lovestruc I wish it was like that all year! :rotfl:

All caught up! Ugh, that sucks that you got sick right as you arrived at Disney! And having not read this before replying to your Disney dilemma on your other TR, maybe Brandon does need a bit of a Disney break. He doesn't seem to be enjoying much on this December trip.

I'm soooo glad you got to enjoy the sleigh ride, it sounds like so much fun! Dinner at Tony's sounded awful, and most reviews seem to point in that direction. Since people who enjoy meals at Tony's seem to be few and far between, I don't think I'll be trying it anytime soon. :lmao:

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip!

I can't believe I got sick right when we got to Disney either...my worst nightmare come true! :laughing: Haha, yeah, I think Brandon needs a little break, I can't keep making him go every couple of months! Now that we're settled on September, I think he will have a good time this year! :thumbsup2

The sleigh ride was so much fun, the decorations at those campsites are insane!! Ugh, Tony's...I will definitely be staying away for a while!

Sounds like you had a wonderful night :D Glad you finally got a boat and the sleigh ride looked awesome :)

Thanks, it was a nice night! The sleigh ride is a lot of fun, a nice way to relax and see the campground! :thumbsup2

And to make matters worse, once we were FINALLY on the bus (which, BTW, we were the ONLY ONES on it besides the driver...) you then have to actually DRIVE to FW which is out in the middle of nowhere! You're on these long dark roads for what seems like forever...I swear I felt like we had been kidnapped and were somewhere out in the everglades about to be fed to a bunch of gators :laughing:

Haha, I know! We didn't take a bus, but we drove from the Boardwalk to FW when we did the Haunted Carriage ride and we were like, "uh, are we going the right way?" We were seriously the only car on the road, it was dark, and it was scary! :laughing:

[Shannon84]

Im back from WDW :sad1: but happy to be catching up on your TR :thumbsup2

I have seen a special on all of the campsites during Christmas time, I am glad to hear that it is just like what I saw on TV :goodvibes I thought that looked so cool, it must be amazing to see in person. I think I need to do one of the carriage rides next time, it sounds like such a fun thing to do!!

I am a total Spectro gal myself too... DF LOVES the electrical parade though, so shhh dont tell him!!

[mickeysmyboy]

Glad you made it to FW for the ride! Wishes is surprisingly far behind MK. The bigger ones that kind of surround the castle are amazingly far! I guess they need the distance to get them to match the castle! We could see them from our room at BLT and it was such an interesting prospective!!

Wasn't the sleigh ride great!? DH and I really enjoyed ours!!

One of these days we have to try one of the ice cream sandwiches!! It looks crazy good!!!!

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Your carriage ride sounds like it was so nice! (The getting to said carriage ride, not so much..:laughing:) I always forget about the ice cream sandwich at MSB! That does look fabulously awesome!

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I want Spectro back, too! I'm just not a fan of MSEP. :sad2:

How neat that you got the same horse for both sleigh rides! Glad to hear you enjoyed it! If and when we ever make it back during the holidays, I would love to do that. I think it would be really interesting to see all of the lights and decorations! :santa:

[oboedm]

The holiday sleigh ride sounds great-- can't wait to read about the haunted carriage ride in your OCT TR, though! This trip is doing an effective job at convincing me I need to visit WDW this Dec!

[Nermel9]

Im back from WDW :sad1: but happy to be catching up on your TR :thumbsup2

I have seen a special on all of the campsites during Christmas time, I am glad to hear that it is just like what I saw on TV :goodvibes I thought that looked so cool, it must be amazing to see in person. I think I need to do one of the carriage rides next time, it sounds like such a fun thing to do!!

I am a total Spectro gal myself too... DF LOVES the electrical parade though, so shhh dont tell him!!

Getting back from WDW is the worst. I wish we could all just live there! :laughing: How was the marathon? I saw your updates on FB, but are you doing a TR for it?

The campsites are ridiculous, I can't believe how detailed some of them are! I can't believe people have that many Christmas decorations! You should definitely do a carriage ride sometime, they are so much fun! :cool1:

I love Spectro...in fact, I need to put on the DIS radio, because they play it all the time on there...:)

Glad you made it to FW for the ride! Wishes is surprisingly far behind MK. The bigger ones that kind of surround the castle are amazingly far! I guess they need the distance to get them to match the castle! We could see them from our room at BLT and it was such an interesting prospective!!

Wasn't the sleigh ride great!? DH and I really enjoyed ours!!

One of these days we have to try one of the ice cream sandwiches!! It looks crazy good!!!!

I am surprised at how far away the fireworks looked from the FW beach, it's crazy! When you are in front of the castle, they are right in your face! :thumbsup2 That must have been nice to watch them from your room, that's such a good reason to stay at CR or BLT! :thumbsup2

I loved the sleigh ride, it was a lot of fun! I was almost wishing it was a little chilly that night so it would have felt more like Christmas! :laughing:

The ice cream sandwich was really good...the cookies were so soft!

Your carriage ride sounds like it was so nice! (The getting to said carriage ride, not so much..:laughing:) I always forget about the ice cream sandwich at MSB! That does look fabulously awesome!

Yeah, getting to FW wasn't fun, but once we got there, it was worth it! It's much easier to drive over there!

I always forget about it too, until Brandon saw someone carrying it! :rotfl: It's so good, and it's so ridiculously big! I don't see how one person could eat that entire thing! :rotfl2:

I want Spectro back, too! I'm just not a fan of MSEP. :sad2:

How neat that you got the same horse for both sleigh rides! Glad to hear you enjoyed it! If and when we ever make it back during the holidays, I would love to do that. I think it would be really interesting to see all of the lights and decorations! :santa:

I really miss Spectro. I didn't appreciate it the times I saw it before they brought back MSEP the way I should have, and now I regret it!

You should definitely do a sleigh ride if you ever go for the holidays, it's a lot of fun! It was strange that we got the same horse, but it was definitely him! He was cute, but both drivers said he's really stubborn and just kind of does what he wants sometimes! :laughing:

The holiday sleigh ride sounds great-- can't wait to read about the haunted carriage ride in your OCT TR, though! This trip is doing an effective job at convincing me I need to visit WDW this Dec!

It was a lot of fun, I liked the Haunted Carriage ride a little more, but that's just because there is a story that goes along with it! I'm on Monday in my October TR, and we did the carriage ride Tuesday, so that will be in the next couple of updates!

You should visit in December, it's a lot of fun! :cool1:

[Nermel9]

I'm not getting up, we're on vacation!!!

Sunday, 12/11

Hi everyone! I apologize if you are following my October TR too and you have to read another AK update here! I'm going to try to breeze through it and get through the whole morning in one update so I don't drag it out too much!

So after our late night at MK, I just wanted to sleep! I wanted to feel better, I wanted my throat to stop hurting, and I hoped sleep would help. It was the worst night of Disney sleep that I've ever had! I couldn't breathe out of my nose, so I kept waking up because my throat was so dry, it hurt soooo much! I would have to get up, drink some water, have a cough drop and try to go back to sleep. Brandon was snoring, so I kept kicking him, throwing things at him, shoving him, nothing worked he wouldn't stop! Even my earplugs wouldn't block him out! We were even in separate beds, since the Pop beds are so small, but I still wasn't far enough away! I almost contemplated trying to nap in the bathroom somehow, I was that desperate! :eek: I must have been up every hour.

Finally at 8:30 I gave up. :sad2: Which at Disney, is late for me. I woke Brandon up and asked if he could get up and start getting ready, so we could go to Animal Kingdom, which apparently was the wrong thing to ask at that moment, because he said he wasn't getting up.

I'll spare you the details, but we got in a little fight about getting up and going to a park. He was tired from the night before and just wanted to sleep. I wanted to go to AK. I explained that I was the sick one who got NO sleep and we were only there for 3 more days, and we need to go to a park. He responded with "I'm not getting up, we're on vacation".

So my response to that was "fine, you can stay here and sleep, I'm getting on a bus and going to Animal Kingdom, you can meet me there when you get up" and I started to get ready.

I guess he knew I was serious, because he got up, got ready and we were out the door within maybe 15 minutes. :woohoo:

Since we had no idea where to eat breakfast in AK, we decided to go to Everything Pop for breakfast. I bought my very first refillable mug, and we both got the croissant sandwiches.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/IMG_0999.jpg

Everything was really good, but I still think the best ones are at the Wilderness Lodge!

We got to Animal Kingdom around 10. The entrance looked so beautiful, with the Christmas decorations and the tree!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010315.jpg

They had PP photographers doing magic shots, where I think if you held a present, in the picture Stitch pops out and I wanted to do that, but I felt kind of stupid, and anyway, I looked terrible since I was sick. I don't think there are any pictures of me from this day, actually.

We went in and took our time going through the Oasis, since last time we ran through it! We checked out all the birds and everything, but as usual, I got bored pretty quickly. The birds are pretty, but there's only so long I can look at them, you know?

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010318.jpg

Finally we went past the Tree of Life and over to Asia! We had to start this AK visit with Expedition Everest, since the last time we started with Festival of the Lion King!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010327.jpg

We grabbed some FP's for later, and then hopped in the standby line, which I think was maybe 15 minutes or so.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010329.jpg

See those bells? I've never seen anyone touch them until this trip. They ring. Loudly. There was this one girl who would jump up and ring them every time we moved up. Then other people saw her do it and they figured "well she is, so I better" and they would ring them. I wouldn't have minded a few times, but I had to hear those bells ring like 20 times and it was seriously making my head vibrate!

I tried to distract myself with the lovely little details that I never bother noticing

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010331.jpg

and before I knew it, it was our turn! We didn't bother waiting for the front row that time, it was kind of strange not sitting in the front, but it was still fun, of course! And I took lots of pictures, which was fun, not my usual end of the track pics!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010333.jpg

Brandon said those were rainclouds, and I of course said "yeah right, the sun is out". Little did I know what would come later that night...

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010335.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010336.jpg

Pretty right? Especially the one of Brandon's nose? :rotfl: Ok, I could have cropped him out, I just thought it was funny! And I do really like all of those pictures, I actually looked in different directions this time, so it was a new experience! I always look straight ahead!

When we got off EE, my throat was killing me, and I wanted something cold, so we went to the little tea stand and I got a frozen chai, which was SO good! :thumbsup2 There was a bench off to the side, so we sat for a few minutes and watched these hipsters order coffee and then congregate and talk like they were at their local coffee shop...it was weird, they all seemed so out of place in Disney! Like the only reason they were there was to get coffee. Hipsters. :confused3

Anyway, we saw a shop across the walkway that neither one of us had ever noticed before, and Brandon wanted a bracelet, so we went over there. It was cute, very small, but I looked at everything in about 2 minutes, so I wandered while Brandon agonized over bracelets (he loves the jewelry in AK for some reason and always buys a bracelet, and he either loses it or it breaks before we get home!) and looked around. It was again, a little section of AK that I don't think I've ever seen before! And if I did, it was in 2008, which has basically been erased from my memory for some reason!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010338.jpg

Brandon finally got a bracelet (which he still has, btw!) and we didn't know what to do next. We settled on...Rafiki's Planet Watch! We went down to the train, waited forever (I don't know what was with all the waiting for transportation on this trip, but it all seemed to take forever, unless I was just really impatient because I wasn't feeling well!) and finally made it over to RPW!

We went in the building to see if there were any animals getting a check up (nope) or any interesting characters out (just Rafiki...so mad Jiminy is gone!) and we went outside to the petting zoo part...the Affection Section, right?

It was adorable, Brandon and I both love animals, so to see them roaming around freely and getting to touch them was awesome! I didn't touch them too much (I didn't think I should, since I was sick), but Brandon was brushing them and petting them and everything, it was really cute!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010340.jpg

There were these absolutely adorable little pigs, sleeping in a little pile, and we looked at them for a few minutes, and a CM came over and chatted with us about the pigs. I think she was bored and wanted someone to talk to, so we asked her some questions about the animals there, she was so sweet! I felt bad that when she would try to talk to people about the animals they would just be like "yeah" and walk away. :sad2: I wish I took a picture of these pigs, because they were so tiny, but they were full grown pigs!

Eventually we were finished with RPW, so we went back and we considered going back to Pop to go in the pool, but then we decided to do something different...the Maharajah Jungle Trek! Brandon got a beer before we went in, so when he was drinking it, I looked around at the shops near the entrance, and they have such cute dresses there! I will definitely be getting one on my next trip!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010347.jpg

We went in, and I didn't really care about anything except...tigers! And there were so many tigers out that day! We looked in every tiger viewing location and saw them, they were just hanging out, having a great time being Disney tigers!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010355.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010361.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010363.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010362.jpg


We watched the tigers for a while, but finally we moved on. Brandon wanted to see the bats, so I tried to watch them, but they are so gross to me, so I moved on from that quickly. I don't know why bats freak me out so much, since I'm an animal freak, but I just can't deal with the thought of them. Bats and snakes. Ugh!

There were a few other animals on the trek, but we really only went in to see the tigers, so we headed out after briefly checking out the other animals. Again we thought about going swimming, but we still had those EE FP's from earlier...so we went on EE again! I didn't take any pictures, but as always, it was a great ride, one of my favorites in all of Disney! :cool1:

It was around 1:30 by then, so we decided to call it a day in Animal Kingdom. We had pretty early dinner reservations and then a whole night at DHS and if I wanted to be awake for it later, I felt like I should take a nap. Again, I was hoping to feel better, but at that point, I was pretty convinced I'd be sick this whole trip. :sad2: We said goodbye to AK and walked to the car and went back to Pop. I could not wait for our night at DHS!

Up next...Christmas at the Epcot resorts and DHS!

[KatMark]

Jen, I'm several updates behind. :confused3

Sorry your meal at Tony's wasn't very good., We've learned WHEN we eat there (which is rarely) to do lunch...it's never as busy, etc.

Love your pictures of the Christmas tree and lights at the MK -- so pretty.

I'm so sorry that you got so sick on your trip...never fun.

We have never gone to Ft. Wilderness...probably because neither one of us are the outdoor types and neither oen of us like horses.

I'm sorry you don't like the Electrical Parade. Ia ctually like it a lot...but then it was the first one they had the first time I went.

You got some great photos at the Animal Kingdom. And poop on Brandon for not wanting to get up.
Would you really have gone without Brandon?

[Simba22]

I'm so sorry you felt so miserable! And for the record, on a family trip to Virginia one year, my dad was snoring SO LOUD that I actually did go sleep in the bathroom! I turned on my walkman (yes, at the time it was a legit walkman!) grabbed my pillow and some extra blankets and slept right on the floor. In the bathroom. Gross? Maybe? But it was a great sleep, I'll say that!

I wish you took pictures of the Hipsters! LOL Lumar is always making fun of Hipsters so I had to read that part outloud to him. He goes "see?" :laughing:

I love bats and snakes but you know what freaks me out (aside from spiders...)? Opossums. The babies are cute. The adults look like botched zombie lab rats on steroids. Although I hit one getting off the highway one night and I felt HORRIBLE about it. Although I do not feel bad about killing spiders...or flies...or mosquitoes...

Moving on...:rolleyes1

Great pics of the tigers! I can't believe you caught one yawning! How cute is that? :cutie:

[ronnmel]

Wow! So many beautiful pictures! I especially love the one with the parrot and the waterfall in the background, and the one going up Everest with all the little clouds. :goodvibes

[marDgreen88]

Ugh, I know I've said it before but I'm so sorry you were sick! That just sounds awful. :(

Way to go getting Brandon to go to AK though! hehehe

So funny, I had never noticed that 'don't take the tea' sign at Everest until this last trip, either! Makes me wonder if I'm just really that unobservant or if it's new?

Disney tigers have it made! They're so awesome. That's one of those things that blows my mind about Animal Kingdom. It's a theme park just down the road from the other parks but there are wild, dangerous animals living there. It's so awesome. ONLY DISNEY! :thumbsup2

[Merida]

Aw, I'm sorry you couldn't sleep! I hate doing that whole sleep-wake up-sleep-wake up thing. It's the most frustrating thing ever.

I didn't realize there were birds there! I also couldn't find the kangaroos (I didn't look very hard, but there are kangaroos there, right?).

AHHH THOSE BELLS. I HATE THEM. Not really, but definitely the worst part of the Everest queue. We ha a large group of teenagers (okay, maybe just a family or two) and they kept ringing those bells. It gets old soooo fast because they're not exactly melodious.

But the Maharajah Trek is awesome - even the bats! I love the themeing in there. Lucky you for seeing so many tigers!

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

The hipsters getting coffee made me laugh. It's so funny when you see people that just seem ENTIRELY out of place at Disney. Like, "alright, let's be honest, I know you're just here for the chai." :rotfl:

That's awesome that the tigers were so out and about that day! Whenever we try to see the tigers or lions, they're always fast asleep! :laughing:

[kittylady1972]

Yeah...love the big kitty photos! I must make it a point to check that out in a few weeks now! Sucks that you were still feeling miserable though.

Good for you for threatening to go without Brandon. I would have done the same thing! :thumbsup2

[PirateKate]

If you had to be sick, it's too bad it was rainy too. :sad2: The sleigh ride looks awesome and I love the pictures from the top of Everest. :goodvibes

[MEK]

You go girl - taking pictures on EE. I can't wait to see them. Sorry you were still feeling so terrible. That's stinks, but I think you did a lot considering the fact that you weren't feeling well.

I finally did Maharaja trek this trip and I thought the bats were super cool! I found them entertaining. Not as entertaining as the tigers, but still pretty cool. It was so nice to visit during the cooler weather. I loved it!

Be back later to see all your pics.

[klacey1]

Awesome update! Sorry you felt so terrible in the morning! No fun! I would have done the same, though-- sucked it up and went to a park!
:rotfl: Love your hipsters comment! I guess there's something at Disney for everyone...including hipsters ;).
We LOVED the Affection Section! I couldn't get enough of those sheep! Too adorable.

[TanzUnited99]

Oh no not feeling well and how the day started :( I'm glad Brandon got ready just as you were leaving and you didn't have to tour AK on your own :)

Lol at hearing the bells ring 20 times - that must have been annoying!! Great EE pics!

I loved Rafiki's Planet Watch! :thumbsup2 It sure is a great place to visit on a nice sunny day.

You got some nice shots of the Tigers - they were sleeping when we visited! :laughing:

[jess20k]

I am loving your TR!! So sorry you were not feeling well, but at least you had a great time!! Love all the pics! :goodvibes

[MEK]

Wow! Tiger pay dirt.

That first picture with the tree and the cloudy ski is very cool.

Love the parrot picture!

The one on the lift hill going into the clouds is my favorite. Nice work!

[oboedm]

Great update! Too funny about the Hipsters. I am generally baffled by them as well. I have never been to RPW, but I may have to take the train up there next time

BTW-- your photos are great! The bird picture looks like something from natual geographic!

[Nermel9]

Jen, I'm several updates behind. :confused3

Sorry your meal at Tony's wasn't very good., We've learned WHEN we eat there (which is rarely) to do lunch...it's never as busy, etc.

Love your pictures of the Christmas tree and lights at the MK -- so pretty.

I'm so sorry that you got so sick on your trip...never fun.

We have never gone to Ft. Wilderness...probably because neither one of us are the outdoor types and neither oen of us like horses.

I'm sorry you don't like the Electrical Parade. Ia ctually like it a lot...but then it was the first one they had the first time I went.

You got some great photos at the Animal Kingdom. And poop on Brandon for not wanting to get up.
Would you really have gone without Brandon?

I've never thought to do Tony's for lunch, but either way, I'll be staying away from there for a while!

Thank you, and it was not fun being sick, but I'm glad I could at least drag myself through the parks!

Ft. Wilderness is really cute, it's not very Wilderness-y at all!

I don't mind the MSEP, it's the music that kills me! :rotfl: The actual parade is cute!

Thanks! I was going to go without Brandon, he was making me so mad that morning that I was seriously going to hop on a bus and just go. :thumbsup2

I'm so sorry you felt so miserable! And for the record, on a family trip to Virginia one year, my dad was snoring SO LOUD that I actually did go sleep in the bathroom! I turned on my walkman (yes, at the time it was a legit walkman!) grabbed my pillow and some extra blankets and slept right on the floor. In the bathroom. Gross? Maybe? But it was a great sleep, I'll say that!

I wish you took pictures of the Hipsters! LOL Lumar is always making fun of Hipsters so I had to read that part outloud to him. He goes "see?" :laughing:

I love bats and snakes but you know what freaks me out (aside from spiders...)? Opossums. The babies are cute. The adults look like botched zombie lab rats on steroids. Although I hit one getting off the highway one night and I felt HORRIBLE about it. Although I do not feel bad about killing spiders...or flies...or mosquitoes...

Moving on...:rolleyes1

Great pics of the tigers! I can't believe you caught one yawning! How cute is that? :cutie:

I was seriously thinking about finding a way to prop myself up on the toilet so I could go to sleep. I was so mad. If we had the extra money, I would just get us a one bedroom villa for our next trip, so I'd have somewhere to escape to when I can't sleep! :laughing:

Haha, I should have taken a picture of the hipsters! Brandon and a few of my friends call hipsters "bag hats" now. Trust me, when you see hipsters, you will notice they all wear bag hats, and you'll be calling them that too!

Ugh, opossums are gross, but I feel bad for them! Brandon ran one over once, and the noise was SO loud when he hit it, I felt awful! I hate snakes. If they didn't exist, I'd be happy!

I love that picture of the yawning tiger! It reminds me of my cats!

Wow! So many beautiful pictures! I especially love the one with the parrot and the waterfall in the background, and the one going up Everest with all the little clouds. :goodvibes

Thank you! I love that I know how to edit them now too, it makes the pictures more vibrant...although, the grass in some of the tiger ones is a little too green, but whatever! :laughing:

Ugh, I know I've said it before but I'm so sorry you were sick! That just sounds awful. :(

Way to go getting Brandon to go to AK though! hehehe

So funny, I had never noticed that 'don't take the tea' sign at Everest until this last trip, either! Makes me wonder if I'm just really that unobservant or if it's new?

Disney tigers have it made! They're so awesome. That's one of those things that blows my mind about Animal Kingdom. It's a theme park just down the road from the other parks but there are wild, dangerous animals living there. It's so awesome. ONLY DISNEY! :thumbsup2

Thanks! It was pretty awful. I hate being sick to begin with, so being sick at Disney was extra annoying.

Haha, I was so annoyed with him, we were wasting so much time fighting that I just got ready and said I was leaving. I'm actually kind of surprised that got him up, I figured he'd want to stay and sleep!

There are so many things at Disney parks that when I notice them, I wonder "how long has that been there?" then I wonder if I've been totally oblivious this whole time too! :rotfl:

It is kind of crazy that there are lions and tigers and all these scary animals right down the street from the Magic Kingdom! :)

Aw, I'm sorry you couldn't sleep! I hate doing that whole sleep-wake up-sleep-wake up thing. It's the most frustrating thing ever.

I didn't realize there were birds there! I also couldn't find the kangaroos (I didn't look very hard, but there are kangaroos there, right?).

AHHH THOSE BELLS. I HATE THEM. Not really, but definitely the worst part of the Everest queue. We ha a large group of teenagers (okay, maybe just a family or two) and they kept ringing those bells. It gets old soooo fast because they're not exactly melodious.

But the Maharajah Trek is awesome - even the bats! I love the themeing in there. Lucky you for seeing so many tigers!

That was definitely a frustrating night of sleep. It made the night seem so long!

I have never seen kangaroos at Animal Kingdom, but I think I've heard they are there too! I have no idea where! :rotfl2:

Those bells are pretty awful. At first I tried to tolerate them, but after a few minutes I just wanted to yell "ok, enough!!!" :rotfl: They're just so loud!

The Maharajah Trek is really cool! I loved the Tigers, and the bird part was cute too! I can do without the bats!

The hipsters getting coffee made me laugh. It's so funny when you see people that just seem ENTIRELY out of place at Disney. Like, "alright, let's be honest, I know you're just here for the chai." :rotfl:

That's awesome that the tigers were so out and about that day! Whenever we try to see the tigers or lions, they're always fast asleep! :laughing:

Haha, they seriously did look like they were just there to get coffee! There were lots of hipsters at Disney in December, I noticed. Everyone loves Disney, even hipsters! :woohoo:

The tigers were so cute! The lions are usually asleep when we see them too, but we got lucky with the tigers!

Yeah...love the big kitty photos! I must make it a point to check that out in a few weeks now! Sucks that you were still feeling miserable though.

Good for you for threatening to go without Brandon. I would have done the same thing! :thumbsup2


Thanks! Definitely go see the tigers, they are adorable! Thanks, I can't believe I was sick for that trip. Figures. :sad2:

I was all set to go without Brandon. I even contemplated taking the car and letting him figure out the buses, but I thought that might be too mean! Luckily he got up and we avoided that whole situation! :laughing:

[Nermel9]

If you had to be sick, it's too bad it was rainy too. :sad2: The sleigh ride looks awesome and I love the pictures from the top of Everest. :goodvibes

Yeah, the sickness wasn't fun, and then the rain made it even worse! Luckily, it didn't rain all day, so we had some sun! The sleigh ride was a lot of fun, I can't wait to do one again! :banana:

You go girl - taking pictures on EE. I can't wait to see them. Sorry you were still feeling so terrible. That's stinks, but I think you did a lot considering the fact that you weren't feeling well.

I finally did Maharaja trek this trip and I thought the bats were super cool! I found them entertaining. Not as entertaining as the tigers, but still pretty cool. It was so nice to visit during the cooler weather. I loved it!

Be back later to see all your pics.

I'm surprised we did so much while I was sick...I kept telling Brandon that if we were home, I would have been calling out of work, so I guess the pixie dust kept me going! :laughing:

Ugh, I'm just not a bat fan, which is weird, because I love animals. But bats scare me! :scared1:

Awesome update! Sorry you felt so terrible in the morning! No fun! I would have done the same, though-- sucked it up and went to a park!
:rotfl: Love your hipsters comment! I guess there's something at Disney for everyone...including hipsters ;).
We LOVED the Affection Section! I couldn't get enough of those sheep! Too adorable.

Thanks! I'm glad that even though I didn't feel good, I still made it to the parks, because it could have been a lot worse! :rotfl:

LOL, Disney is for everyone, even hipsters! :rotfl2:

I loved the Affection Section too, the animals were so cute, and I love that you are allowed to touch them!

Oh no not feeling well and how the day started :( I'm glad Brandon got ready just as you were leaving and you didn't have to tour AK on your own :)

Lol at hearing the bells ring 20 times - that must have been annoying!! Great EE pics!

I loved Rafiki's Planet Watch! :thumbsup2 It sure is a great place to visit on a nice sunny day.

You got some nice shots of the Tigers - they were sleeping when we visited! :laughing:

Haha, I'm glad I didn't have to do AK by myself either! If I had to do any park alone, AK would be last on the list! The other 3 seem ok to do alone, but AK seems a little scary, maybe because I'm still kind of unfamiliar with that park! I was going to, though, so I'm glad Brandon finally got up!

Ugh, those bells were obnoxious! :laughing:

Thanks! Some of the tigers were sleeping, but most of them were up, roaming around! I think when we did that in 2008, we saw like, one tiger, so it was nice to see lots of them!

I am loving your TR!! So sorry you were not feeling well, but at least you had a great time!! Love all the pics! :goodvibes

Thank you! :thumbsup2 I did have a great time, even though I was sick! Disney at Christmas is magical!

Wow! Tiger pay dirt.

That first picture with the tree and the cloudy ski is very cool.

Love the parrot picture!

The one on the lift hill going into the clouds is my favorite. Nice work!

Thanks! I tried to take pictures of things I don't normally take pictures of on this trip! I really think I might get a real camera for my next trip. I might use it to reward myself if I lose a decent amount of weight this year or something. I think it's time I got a big girl camera! :laughing:

Great update! Too funny about the Hipsters. I am generally baffled by them as well. I have never been to RPW, but I may have to take the train up there next time

BTW-- your photos are great! The bird picture looks like something from natual geographic!

Thanks! Hipsters are definitely strange...and where did they even come from? It's like they came out of nowhere the last year or so...and now they're everywhere, even Disney! :laughing:

Thank you! I really love the parrot picture, it's one of my favorites!

[Missyrose]

Ugh, that sucks that you were REALLY not feeling good, but I'm glad you made the most of it at AK! We're giving that park another shot on our upcoming trips, but just planning to be there for a few hours or maybe a half-day. I'm hoping it begins to grow on us, because everyone seems to love AK and I just don't get it!

[Dugette]

Just got all caught up. We've never been to Tony's, but have heard negative reviews of it and that dirt-lasagna sounds awful! It's really too bad, since Lady and the Tramp is my favorite Disney movie and I love Italian food. Oh, well.

Glad you enjoyed your sleigh ride. Most of our pictures and video ended up quite blurry too! It's really amazing how all-out people go in their decorating!

Love the beautiful, blue castle! :lovestruc

I'm glad you were able to get a lot done, even though you were sick. That lack-of-sleep night sounds horrible, though. I hope you get a good nap.

[DisneyFirefly]

I've only been to Tony's once and, honestly, the only thing I didn't like about it was the garlic bread, which was rock hard :lmao: It was pretty good, if I remember correctly. I went for lunch and had the chicken parmigiana.

[Shannon84]

Your EE pictures look professional!! :goodvibes
The clouds look crazy too!!

I always find new things at AK that I have never seen before, there are so many corners and areas of the park I have just walked right by before!!

Thats cute that Brandon was enjoying the animal petting zoo area!!

[Mrs T 2009]

I am glad I am not the only one who notices new things almost every trip to WDW!!! :)

I like AK, but we can breeze through it in the morning/early afternoon and be done with a possible return before the trips over. We don't always see the shows ( FOTLK & Nemo ). EE is my favorite along with the Safari :)

Excited to hear about your night at DHS :D

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Ugh, sorry you weren't able to sleep well! It's bad enough when I have a night at home that I'm not able to sleep, but if I have one on vacation it seems 10 times worse! Your story about Brandon's snoring make me giggle though - I am super sensitive to sounds (especially at night) and I can not handle snoring. My grandfather is horrible. When we went to Italy, I stayed in the same room as my grandparents, and I worried for weeks leading up to the trip that I wasn't going to be able to sleep. My grandmother assured me that he had gotten better...not true. When we got to Venice, we had this huge bathroom, and we actually put my grandfathers roll-away bed in the bathroom so we couldn't hear him snore! :lmao:

Your picture of the AK tree is beautiful! I love how the sky looks. :cloud9: Glad you got to see the tigers on the trek - I have that scheduled for our upcoming trip and it will be the first time for Miguel and I. I'm worried about the bats, though! :eek:

[SoNotAPrincess]

I was a couple of updates behind, so let's start with the most important thing. In my best Animal voice, "Me. want. ICECREAMCOOKIE!" :lmao: Your photo makes me think driving an hour to MK to get one isn't too ridiculous an idea!

I'm so jealous that you can hold it together enough to take pictures on EE. I have tried. And failed. Several times. Yours are really good!

You hit the tiger gold mine, too...especially Mr. Yawny Stripes! And I'm with you on the bats, too. No thank you very much!

Silly hipsters..I love that you put little asides like that in your report!

[Nermel9]

Ugh, that sucks that you were REALLY not feeling good, but I'm glad you made the most of it at AK! We're giving that park another shot on our upcoming trips, but just planning to be there for a few hours or maybe a half-day. I'm hoping it begins to grow on us, because everyone seems to love AK and I just don't get it!

I didn't get AK for a while, but once I started really appreciating the beauty and detail they put into that park, I learned to love it. It's still my least favorite, but I do love it! Especially the Asia area, it's beautiful! :love:

Just got all caught up. We've never been to Tony's, but have heard negative reviews of it and that dirt-lasagna sounds awful! It's really too bad, since Lady and the Tramp is my favorite Disney movie and I love Italian food. Oh, well.

Glad you enjoyed your sleigh ride. Most of our pictures and video ended up quite blurry too! It's really amazing how all-out people go in their decorating!

Love the beautiful, blue castle! :lovestruc

I'm glad you were able to get a lot done, even though you were sick. That lack-of-sleep night sounds horrible, though. I hope you get a good nap.

Tony's is such a cute idea, but I think they need to fix it a little...get a new chef, change the menu a little, something! I mean, my chicken was good, but there's no excuse for that lasagna! Even a frozen one would have been better!

The sleigh ride was awesome, I'd love to do it again!

It was pretty awful not being able to sleep! Good thing I had lots of Advil and cough drops to keep me going throughout the day!

I've only been to Tony's once and, honestly, the only thing I didn't like about it was the garlic bread, which was rock hard :lmao: It was pretty good, if I remember correctly. I went for lunch and had the chicken parmigiana.

The chicken parm was really good, I ate all of mine! But Brandon's lasagna was seriously horrendous! :scared1: It's too bad, because we really liked it on our Disneymoon!

Your EE pictures look professional!! :goodvibes
The clouds look crazy too!!

I always find new things at AK that I have never seen before, there are so many corners and areas of the park I have just walked right by before!!

Thats cute that Brandon was enjoying the animal petting zoo area!!

OMG thank you! I wouldn't go that far, but thank you! :goodvibes

AK is such a cool park, I can't believe it took me so long to appreciate it!

Haha, yeah, Brandon probably would have stayed in that petting zoo area much longer if I wasn't getting so bored! :laughing:

I am glad I am not the only one who notices new things almost every trip to WDW!!! :)

I like AK, but we can breeze through it in the morning/early afternoon and be done with a possible return before the trips over. We don't always see the shows ( FOTLK & Nemo ). EE is my favorite along with the Safari :)

Excited to hear about your night at DHS :D

That's why I love to keep going back to WDW there's always something new to see!

I like that AK is kind of a half day park, but I would really love to go there at night sometime! I'm so upset we're not doing our May trip, because it is open til 7 a few nights, and I was planning to go there til 7, but...oh well! Next year, maybe!

Ugh, sorry you weren't able to sleep well! It's bad enough when I have a night at home that I'm not able to sleep, but if I have one on vacation it seems 10 times worse! Your story about Brandon's snoring make me giggle though - I am super sensitive to sounds (especially at night) and I can not handle snoring. My grandfather is horrible. When we went to Italy, I stayed in the same room as my grandparents, and I worried for weeks leading up to the trip that I wasn't going to be able to sleep. My grandmother assured me that he had gotten better...not true. When we got to Venice, we had this huge bathroom, and we actually put my grandfathers roll-away bed in the bathroom so we couldn't hear him snore! :lmao:

Your picture of the AK tree is beautiful! I love how the sky looks. :cloud9: Glad you got to see the tigers on the trek - I have that scheduled for our upcoming trip and it will be the first time for Miguel and I. I'm worried about the bats, though! :eek:

Ugh I'm so awful with Brandon's snoring...at home I can just kick and shove him, and usually if it's really bad, he will go sleep in another room. On weekends I can wear my earplugs and I'm ok, but I can't wear them on nights I have to work, because I'm afraid I won't hear my alarm!

Haha, that's so funny what you did to your grandfather! :laughing: I would seriously do the same thing to Brandon if I could. I'm really considering a one bedroom villa for our next trip...maybe OKW or SSR, one of the cheaper DVC resorts, so I can have some quiet when I want to sleep! :rotfl:

Thank you, the sky looked really nice that day, little did I know, it was because it was going to rain later! :confused3 Haha, don't worry about the bats, they are behind netting, or something, they can't get you! I just don't even like to look at them, I think they are so creepy! Brandon just tells me they are mice with wings, but...I don't buy it! :rotfl2:

I was a couple of updates behind, so let's start with the most important thing. In my best Animal voice, "Me. want. ICECREAMCOOKIE!" :lmao: Your photo makes me think driving an hour to MK to get one isn't too ridiculous an idea!

I'm so jealous that you can hold it together enough to take pictures on EE. I have tried. And failed. Several times. Yours are really good!

You hit the tiger gold mine, too...especially Mr. Yawny Stripes! And I'm with you on the bats, too. No thank you very much!

Silly hipsters..I love that you put little asides like that in your report!

Haha, no, driving an hour to MK is definitely NOT a bad idea, especially for an ice cream cookie sandwich. :thumbsup2 If I lived that close I'd be there every weekend!

Thank you! I'm surprised I can take pictures on EE too, but to be honest, I only do it during the slower parts!

Awww, I loved the tigers, they were so sweet!

Haha, I noticed so many hipsters in Disney on this trip, they're taking over! :rotfl2:

[Nermel9]

Christmas at the Beach and Yacht Clubs

Sunday 12/11

Sorry I couldn't come up with a better title for this chapter, I seriously am at a loss for cute names right now! :rotfl: But that pretty much sums it up!

After our morning in Animal Kingdom, we went back to Pop for a little while, showered, took a nap and headed back out the door around 4:30 to go to the Beach Club. Why the Beach Club? To go to Brandon's new favorite restaurant, of course, Cape May Cafe! It took me so long to get an ADR here for this night, they were all booked for so long. Originally we were going to Captain's Grille, but finally, right before the trip a 5:15 ADR popped up so I grabbed it!

We got there a little early, so we checked in and then walked around the Beach Club lobby to admire the beautiful Christmas decorations! They are so amazing. The Beach Club was packed that night, a combination of people waiting to get in Cape May, and just looking at the decorations. We could barely find a parking spot when we got there!

I got my first look at the gingerbread carousel, and it was just as amazing in person as it looked in pictures!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010373.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010375.jpg

I wanted to take more pictures, from other angles, but there were so many people looking that I felt bad taking too long, so I walked away, figuring I'd be back after we ate.

There is a little gingerbread stand set up where they were selling things made out of gingerbread, which I thought was really cool:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010377.jpg

I love how they build things out of gingerbread for CM's to actually work in! Like the house in the GF? Can you imagine working in there all day? Dream job! :upsidedow

I love Christmas trees, and the ones in the Beach Club were so pretty, very pastel and beach-y themed!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010378.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010379.jpg

While I was looking around at everything, our buzzer for Cape May finally went off, so we went in to find our seats, and we were off in some tiny room to the right...I never even noticed this room existed! It was kind of annoying being so far from the buffet, but whatever, all that mattered was eating, I was so hungry at that point, I would have sat on the floor! :rotfl:

I don't have any Cape May pics, but of course, we enjoyed everything we ate! Brandon only had 3 plates this time, as opposed to the four he had on our October trip. :rotfl2:

Once we were finished, Brandon wanted to go to DHS, which is what we had planned, but I wanted to go to the Yacht Club for a second to see the decorations there. Brandon didn't really want to, but he agreed, so we walked over there. It was raining a little, and I was hoping it would let up by the time we were at DHS for the Osborne Lights later...

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010381.jpg
Beautiful Stormalong Bay


http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010382.jpg
Yacht Club walkway


We opened the doors to go in, and as soon as we stepped inside we heard...carolers! We ran over to the front to watch and listen:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010384.jpg

It was like they stepped right out of A Christmas Carol, they were so perfect for the Yacht Club. I listened for a little while, then began to look around and noticed how beautiful the YC is...and how Christmas-y it felt. Just the combination of the decorations, they carolers, and the New England feel the YC has was perfect. It was the whole reason I wanted to come to Disney in December, I wanted to be immersed in the Christmas spirit, and the Yacht Club finally gave me that feeling I was searching for. I had a really hard time getting into the holidays this year, but being at the YC made me so happy.

The next time I go to Disney for Christmas, that is where I'm staying. The Wilderness Lodge seems to be everyone's #1 choice for a Christmas resort, but the Yacht Club does it for me. And you all know how much I LOVE my WL. But there is something about the YC 10 days before Christmas. It's magical. :wizard: It's perfect.

Anyway, I came to see the little village, and I found it, and it is absolutely adorable!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010388.jpg

There were people walking around looking at it, and I wanted to really look at the details, so I left for a few minutes and looked at the other decorations. Everything was so beautiful. If we didn't have a park to look forward to going to, I would have grabbed a chair and sat there all night!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010389.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010392.jpg

Brandon watched the carolers the whole time, and I kept going back and forth between the village and to stand with him and listen. When they started to sing "O Holy Night" I had to stop and watch with him, it is my favorite Christmas song of all time. They did such an amazing job, I was definitely crying by the end! I wish I thought to record some of it, but it never even occurred to me at the time!

I went back to the little village to look at more of the little details and noticed this sign

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010396.jpg

I just thought that was cute, being a New England girl!

I went around to the back and noticed...everything was Disney themed back there!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010397.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010399.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010401.jpg

How adorable is that? Just when you think you have seen every little detail of something, there is something else to capture your attention!

I actually have many more pictures of the village, but they are really blurry. I was having a tough time with my camera when taking pictures of it, if I didn't use my flash, it was blurry, but with my flash, you kind of lost some of the old time-y Christmas village feel it had. I tried using my Candlelight setting for a few of the pictures and still, I didn't get very many good ones. It's too bad, because everything is so cute! :confused3

Finally, the carolers were finished singing, and we figured we should go over to DHS at some point! We were having such a nice, relaxing time in the Yacht Club that we didn't want to leave! Well, we wanted to go to DHS, but for once, I wasn't in a hurry!

We walked back over to the Beach Club and I looked at the carousel a little more before I could finally drag myself away.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010407.jpg

I hated to leave the Beach Club, I love it there so much, but now I was getting excited for Hollywood Studios! It was dark, the rain had stopped, and I couldn't wait to see the Osborne Lights!

Up next...Hollywood Studios!

[IheartDDuck]

Glad that Brandon decided to only eat 3 plates at Cape May this time instead of 4. :lmao:

Love the pictures of the decorations. The resorts were definitely beautiful at that time of year.

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I agree, I think the Yacht and Beach Clubs are absolutely magical around the holidays. Did you notice on the train set that they have all of the different restaurants around the two resorts on there as well? Disney really does do their detail down to the smallest degree!

[marDgreen88]

Beautiful!!!! Oh my gosh. The Beach Club is my dream resort. I love it so much! I'm glad the Yacht Club gave you the Christmas-y feeling, it really is a gorgeous resort! O Holy Night is one of my favorite Christmas songs, too. I really enjoyed this update! I hope it didn't rain for yall too much for Osborne Lights... but I kinda feel like that's not the case. :(

[dara00]

when I was in Disney in December, I spent some time looking at that Gingerbread house and around the Beach Club, but I don't think I went to the Yacht Club! Cool pictures!

[SoNotAPrincess]

I used to be all about the GF at Christmas, but I'm firmly in the YC/BC camp now...the decorations are simply magical! We're staying at YC in October, and I'm so excited!!

[ronnmel]

Very very pretty!

[Joyciemc]

Oh my gosh, how gorgeous was the Yacht Club? To walk in to those carolers- perfect!!

I like Cape May Cafe, but Ben didn't care for it, so we haven't been back. Someday... oohh, maybe I should add it to my May trip with Mark... excuse me, I am going to go look at my plans :laughing:

[pinkxray]

The YC looks so pretty:goodvibes No one ever mentions visiting the YC for xmas decorations. I would probably skip right over it, but now I have to check it out.

Did you check out the decorations at the BWI? I was thinking of staying there or GF for our xmas trip, but the GF is way too $$$.

[oboedm]

Great update! The more updates you do, the more convinced I that a Christmas trip is in my future! The Yacht Club is really beautiful... I love the garland hanging from the second floor.

We have never been to CMC, but I am thinking about trying it on our next trip. Are there many options for non-seafood eaters? My husband doesn't eat anything that comes from "the world's toilet" (his words, not mine).

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

YC does it for me too!!!!! We stayed there for one night in Dec and it was magical! WL does have a special place in my heart too!!!!

[MEK]

I didn't even think of going over to the YC to see the Christmas decorations. DOH! Not that Denny and Nick would have waited for me. :rotfl: Well, maybe they would have but I was so beat I completely forgot. I love that you timed it perfectly with the carolers. Way to go!

[Simba22]

Wow the BC and YC look amazing! And O Holy Night is my favorite Christmas song too! I would cried listening to the carolers too!

Great update and great pics! :thumbsup2

[mickeysmyboy]

Sounds like a great night! I really want to try Cape May Cafe! I think DH would really enjoy dinner there! He's a seafood kinda guy! I LOVED all the christmas decorations at BC and YC! I could totally see spending a holiday trip at either one! Well, really any trip! :lmao:

[kittylady1972]

:) AND thanks to another GREAT trip report update I will now be adding a side trip to Yacht and Beach Club on my list of places to visit next November. We've seen the GF decorated for Christmas but I think we need to visit some new resorts and I don't think we've seen those two resorts all dressed up for the holidays...and the carolers sound great. Plus that little village looks adorable. Thanks for sharing! :)

[Shannon84]

What a great update!! I love Christmas decorations so I love all of the pictures you shared!! As soon as the picture of the carolers came up it made me a little misty eyed...Im not even sure why. I think because it just gave me that feeling of what Christmas should be. Also the YC really reminds me of back home in MA and I agree I think that would be my favorite for that time of year!!

[Mrs T 2009]

One day I WILL be at WDW during Christmas Time :)

That carousel is so cute! The village is so pretty and love the disney theme to it too :)

I bet the Carolers were great to hear! :) I love christmas music :D

[Missyrose]

Wow, those resorts are just exquisite for the holidays! The details are just incredible. I'm glad you guys had another good meal at Cape May. Can't wait to see your evening at DHS! popcorn::

[Merida]

That was definitely a frustrating night of sleep. It made the night seem so long!

I have never seen kangaroos at Animal Kingdom, but I think I've heard they are there too! I have no idea where! :rotfl2:

Those bells are pretty awful. At first I tried to tolerate them, but after a few minutes I just wanted to yell "ok, enough!!!" :rotfl: They're just so loud!

The Maharajah Trek is really cool! I loved the Tigers, and the bird part was cute too! I can do without the bats!


My mother read me a lot of books with bats in them (even though she didn't like bats...) when I was younger so now it's all 'LOOK IT'S STELLA LUNA' or whichever. I don't know, I'm not really into vampire stories so I don't have that connection. And echolocation is probably the coolest thing in the entire world. /why I like bats

Yay, I'm not far behind!! (Side note: whenever I see someone using Comic Sans it reminds me of Jerry from Parks and Rec saying 'To me, Comic Sans always SCREAMS fun!')

Okay, this may be sacrilege or something, but we HATED the Wilderness Lodge holiday decorations. No reason why everyone loves them so much; we much preferred the Boardwalk resorts (and we only went in the Yacht Club! :lmao:) I mean, how you can beat gingerbread and train villages and Stitch and carousels? You can't!!

How lucky to hear carolers! The melancholy songs (okay, for some reason I thought you said I Wonder As I Wander, but O Holy Night works too. Kind of) are my favorite and I wish Disney used this part of Christmas (another year over, See You in St. Louis style) instead of just relentlessly cheerful. idk. I think of weird things when in holiday overload! :rolleyes:

I'm glad to hear Cape May is good. We did Captain's Grille instead and it was excellent. Resort dining is my favorite.

[TanzUnited99]

:woohoo: on getting a reservation for Cape May Cafe!!

The gingerbread carousel sure looks amazing! :thumbsup2

I love your pics of Stormalong bay and the Yacht Club walkway - it looks so quiet and peaceful though the rain probably has something to do with that! :rotfl:

Your description and pics of the Yacht Club at Christmas time has sold itself to me lol!! It sure seems like a great place to stay during the festive period.

[Nermel9]

Glad that Brandon decided to only eat 3 plates at Cape May this time instead of 4. :lmao:

Love the pictures of the decorations. The resorts were definitely beautiful at that time of year.

Haha, yeah, me too, there was no sick feeling, like you're going to die afterwards! :rotfl:

Christmas is the best time to visit Disney! The decorations are amazing! :lovestruc

I agree, I think the Yacht and Beach Clubs are absolutely magical around the holidays. Did you notice on the train set that they have all of the different restaurants around the two resorts on there as well? Disney really does do their detail down to the smallest degree!

I didn't see a train!!! Something to look for next time! :thumbsup2 The YC and BC were so beautiful, I'm so glad we visited them this time!

Beautiful!!!! Oh my gosh. The Beach Club is my dream resort. I love it so much! I'm glad the Yacht Club gave you the Christmas-y feeling, it really is a gorgeous resort! O Holy Night is one of my favorite Christmas songs, too. I really enjoyed this update! I hope it didn't rain for yall too much for Osborne Lights... but I kinda feel like that's not the case. :(

I love the Beach Club, it was my dream resort too (well, it's still one of them!) so we HAD to stay there for our Disneymoon 2 years ago! I've been wanting to go back ever since, but I'm trying not to repeat resorts yet (although we've been to the WL twice, can't stay away from that place!).

I never thought I'd like the Yacht Club, but during the holidays, it is amazing! I really want to stay there someday! Although, I'd have a hard time being there and not being in the Beach Club! :rotfl:

when I was in Disney in December, I spent some time looking at that Gingerbread house and around the Beach Club, but I don't think I went to the Yacht Club! Cool pictures!

We almost skipped the YC, but I had to go at the last minute, and I'm SO glad we did, it turned out to be probably the best night of the trip! Just because it was so unexpected and so magical being there, I really, really loved the Christmas-y feeling there! :thumbsup2

I used to be all about the GF at Christmas, but I'm firmly in the YC/BC camp now...the decorations are simply magical! We're staying at YC in October, and I'm so excited!!

The GF is amazing, but there is just something about the YC and BC for Christmas, maybe because the lobby areas are smaller and the GF is SO huge? I don't know, it just feels more intimate at the YC and BC! So jealous you're staying at the YC in October, you're so close to Epcot for Food and Wine! :woohoo:

Very very pretty!

Thank you! The decorations were beautiful, so glad we got to see them! :lovestruc

[Nermel9]

Oh my gosh, how gorgeous was the Yacht Club? To walk in to those carolers- perfect!!

I like Cape May Cafe, but Ben didn't care for it, so we haven't been back. Someday... oohh, maybe I should add it to my May trip with Mark... excuse me, I am going to go look at my plans :laughing:

I know, it was perfect timing! :thumbsup2

I'm surprised Ben didn't like Cape May, it's so good! Did you end up adding it to your May trip?

The YC looks so pretty:goodvibes No one ever mentions visiting the YC for xmas decorations. I would probably skip right over it, but now I have to check it out.

Did you check out the decorations at the BWI? I was thinking of staying there or GF for our xmas trip, but the GF is way too $$$.

The YC Christmas decorations are so pretty! So are the BC ones, but I liked YC just a little bit more! We didn't go to the BWI on this trip, I would have if I wasn't sick, but I just didn't feel like walking over there. The GF is nice, they have that huge tree and the Gingerbread house, but if you really want to feel Christmasy, I'd stay in one of the Epcot resorts. Although I'm not sure about BWI, but I'm sure it's nice there too!

Great update! The more updates you do, the more convinced I that a Christmas trip is in my future! The Yacht Club is really beautiful... I love the garland hanging from the second floor.

We have never been to CMC, but I am thinking about trying it on our next trip. Are there many options for non-seafood eaters? My husband doesn't eat anything that comes from "the world's toilet" (his words, not mine).

Haha, the more updates I do, the more I just want to go for Christmas and no other time! Although, I do love the Fall for Food and Wine! I wish F&W extended into December!

There are lots of things at Cape May for people who don't eat seafood, I don't think I ever eat seafood there, actually! I might get something fried, like a fried scallop or something, but usually I stick to the pasta, steak and chicken! And although I don't eat salad, there is a huge salad bar!

YC does it for me too!!!!! We stayed there for one night in Dec and it was magical! WL does have a special place in my heart too!!!!

YC is so pretty, I hope to get to stay there for the holidays someday! And of course, I'd love to stay at WL again for Christmas, but I'll stay there any time of year! I'm listening to WL area music right now, it's making me want to go back! :sad1:

I didn't even think of going over to the YC to see the Christmas decorations. DOH! Not that Denny and Nick would have waited for me. :rotfl: Well, maybe they would have but I was so beat I completely forgot. I love that you timed it perfectly with the carolers. Way to go!

I'm glad we went over there, Brandon didn't want to at first, but he was happy we did too, because he loved the carolers! I love Christmas, I love how Disney does all these extra little things to make your stay so much more magical during the holidays! :lovestruc

Wow the BC and YC look amazing! And O Holy Night is my favorite Christmas song too! I would cried listening to the carolers too!

Great update and great pics! :thumbsup2

Aren't the BC and YC so beautiful! O Holy Night was so perfect! Ahhh, I miss Christmas music, I'm ready to skip the whole year and go right to November again. :laughing:

[Nermel9]

Sounds like a great night! I really want to try Cape May Cafe! I think DH would really enjoy dinner there! He's a seafood kinda guy! I LOVED all the christmas decorations at BC and YC! I could totally see spending a holiday trip at either one! Well, really any trip! :lmao:

Cape May is great, and if your DH likes seafood, he will love it! :thumbsup2

I would love to stay at the YC for the holidays, but I'd stay at BC anytime! I really, really want to stay there for a Food and Wine trip someday!

:) AND thanks to another GREAT trip report update I will now be adding a side trip to Yacht and Beach Club on my list of places to visit next November. We've seen the GF decorated for Christmas but I think we need to visit some new resorts and I don't think we've seen those two resorts all dressed up for the holidays...and the carolers sound great. Plus that little village looks adorable. Thanks for sharing!


OMG yes, definitely go check out the YC and BC in November! :cool1: I'm not sure when the carolers start, actually, I didn't even know they did that, but if you can catch them, you should, it's such a nice extra touch! The little village is so cute, I wish I got better pictures, but my camera was being temperamental! :laughing:

What a great update!! I love Christmas decorations so I love all of the pictures you shared!! As soon as the picture of the carolers came up it made me a little misty eyed...Im not even sure why. I think because it just gave me that feeling of what Christmas should be. Also the YC really reminds me of back home in MA and I agree I think that would be my favorite for that time of year!!

Thanks! Haha, I get misty eyed when I think about being in Disney for Christmas, it makes sense! YC reminds me of New England, so of course, I felt right at home there! I never thought I'd like it there, but I really do, it's so Christmasy! I'd spend a lot of time in the lobby if I stayed there!

One day I WILL be at WDW during Christmas Time :)

That carousel is so cute! The village is so pretty and love the disney theme to it too :)

I bet the Carolers were great to hear! :) I love christmas music :D

Yay, I hope so! It's a great time to visit! :thumbsup2 Isn't the carousel beautiful? And the village was so adorable, I really loved the Disney side! The carolers were amazing, it was so much fun to walk in and see that, it was like we stepped into a movie! :lovestruc

Wow, those resorts are just exquisite for the holidays! The details are just incredible. I'm glad you guys had another good meal at Cape May. Can't wait to see your evening at DHS! popcorn::

Aren't they so perfect for the holidays? Cape May was great, although the room we sat in was strange! :rotfl:

My mother read me a lot of books with bats in them (even though she didn't like bats...) when I was younger so now it's all 'LOOK IT'S STELLA LUNA' or whichever. I don't know, I'm not really into vampire stories so I don't have that connection. And echolocation is probably the coolest thing in the entire world. /why I like bats

Yay, I'm not far behind!! (Side note: whenever I see someone using Comic Sans it reminds me of Jerry from Parks and Rec saying 'To me, Comic Sans always SCREAMS fun!')

Okay, this may be sacrilege or something, but we HATED the Wilderness Lodge holiday decorations. No reason why everyone loves them so much; we much preferred the Boardwalk resorts (and we only went in the Yacht Club! :lmao:) I mean, how you can beat gingerbread and train villages and Stitch and carousels? You can't!!

How lucky to hear carolers! The melancholy songs (okay, for some reason I thought you said I Wonder As I Wander, but O Holy Night works too. Kind of) are my favorite and I wish Disney used this part of Christmas (another year over, See You in St. Louis style) instead of just relentlessly cheerful. idk. I think of weird things when in holiday overload! :rolleyes:

I'm glad to hear Cape May is good. We did Captain's Grille instead and it was excellent. Resort dining is my favorite.

Haha, I really don't get why people are so fascinated by Comic Sans, it's strange that a font gets so much attention! I mean, there are people out there who seriously hate it! :rotfl: (I actually meant to use a different font for this TR, but I guess my mouse is drawn to it or something! :rotfl2:)

Awww, my poor Wilderness Lodge! :laughing: I can't say anything bad about it, it's my favorite resort, but the decorations there are much different than the Epcot resorts, they are much more rustic! The YC and BC are so beautiful, and the gingerbread is amazing! They should make a giant gingerbread moose at the WL or something! :thumbsup2

I love melancholy Christmas songs too, which is strange, because I want to be happy during Christmas, but those depressing songs are just so Christmasy! :laughing: I wish you would hear them more at Disney too. Although, if you do the Candlelight Processional, you hear them! :)

Cape May is so great, we have to do it on every trip now, because it's Brandon's new favorite! Captain's Grille is really good, I've been wanting to go back there, but we never have the time! :sad2:

:woohoo: on getting a reservation for Cape May Cafe!!

The gingerbread carousel sure looks amazing! :thumbsup2

I love your pics of Stormalong bay and the Yacht Club walkway - it looks so quiet and peaceful though the rain probably has something to do with that! :rotfl:

Your description and pics of the Yacht Club at Christmas time has sold itself to me lol!! It sure seems like a great place to stay during the festive period.

I was so happy to get that ADR at the last second! Captain's Grille is great, but I was looking forward to Cape May again!

Stormalong Bay is such a pretty place, it's like a tiny water park! I wish we spent more time there when we stayed there on our Disneymoon, but we only went down there once! :sad2: It was pretty peaceful that night, but it was raining on and off, so I guess no one really wanted to swim!

The YC at Christmas is really festive, I didn't want to leave! I kept telling Brandon that I wished we were staying there!

[disneybarbie]

Subscribing! Sorry I'm so late here.. hadn't noticed your TR links before.. off to read the October one too now popcorn::

Hope you're having a lovely weekend!


Emma princess: x

[Nermel9]

Subscribing! Sorry I'm so late here.. hadn't noticed your TR links before.. off to read the October one too now popcorn::

Hope you're having a lovely weekend!


Emma princess: x

Welcome, thanks for joining! I'm off to join your PTR, I love the planning for October trips! :banana:

[Merida]

Haha, I really don't get why people are so fascinated by Comic Sans, it's strange that a font gets so much attention! I mean, there are people out there who seriously hate it! :rotfl: (I actually meant to use a different font for this TR, but I guess my mouse is drawn to it or something! :rotfl2:)

Awww, my poor Wilderness Lodge! :laughing: I can't say anything bad about it, it's my favorite resort, but the decorations there are much different than the Epcot resorts, they are much more rustic! The YC and BC are so beautiful, and the gingerbread is amazing! They should make a giant gingerbread moose at the WL or something! :thumbsup2

I love melancholy Christmas songs too, which is strange, because I want to be happy during Christmas, but those depressing songs are just so Christmasy! :laughing: I wish you would hear them more at Disney too. Although, if you do the Candlelight Processional, you hear them! :)

Cape May is so great, we have to do it on every trip now, because it's Brandon's new favorite! Captain's Grille is really good, I've been wanting to go back there, but we never have the time! :sad2:

I think the Comic Sans thing is, for me at least, that a lot of non-computer-people will use it in their powerpoint presentations (and these are professional presentations at national science conferences!). And it's just not professional? I don't know, I like typography and there's so many interesting fonts out there that I find it funny when corporations/professionals default to using Comic Sans.

I was disappointed in the scale (there certainly was no gingerbread carousel equivalent! BRING ON THE MOOSE!) and, idk, the ~Native American~/rustic thing isn't really so special because, well, my boyfriend grew up knowing the real thing (and the WL certainly pales in comparison! We couldn't even figure out what type of Native American tribe they were supposed to be honoring). We weren't really in great moods when we went to Wilderness Lodge, so it was probably a bigger deal than it normally would've been. Our circumstances are kind of unique, I suppose, and thus we are certainly not the target audience for the WL! It just wasn't our thing (and I'm sure that there is plenty of criticism of places like the Poly/AKL as well - two places we enjoy very much - so it's a MMV thing in the end, I guess).

We were supposed to go! And then didn't want to stand in line. So I just played them in the car. ;) Lazy solutions win again!

I've never been a big seafood person, which is why I didn't get a reservation there. And now Captain's Grille is my boyfriend's favorite, so I'm pretty sure we'll be returning there every trip! :rotfl: I'm not sure we'll ever have very much time for Cape May. It's funny how things turn out sometimes.

[Grumpy's Wife]

When I saw your user name I thought I was already reading along on your report. Looks like you're doing two. I'm off to read but wanted to just say hi. :wave:

[Nermel9]

I think the Comic Sans thing is, for me at least, that a lot of non-computer-people will use it in their powerpoint presentations (and these are professional presentations at national science conferences!). And it's just not professional? I don't know, I like typography and there's so many interesting fonts out there that I find it funny when corporations/professionals default to using Comic Sans.

I was disappointed in the scale (there certainly was no gingerbread carousel equivalent! BRING ON THE MOOSE!) and, idk, the ~Native American~/rustic thing isn't really so special because, well, my boyfriend grew up knowing the real thing (and the WL certainly pales in comparison! We couldn't even figure out what type of Native American tribe they were supposed to be honoring). We weren't really in great moods when we went to Wilderness Lodge, so it was probably a bigger deal than it normally would've been. Our circumstances are kind of unique, I suppose, and thus we are certainly not the target audience for the WL! It just wasn't our thing (and I'm sure that there is plenty of criticism of places like the Poly/AKL as well - two places we enjoy very much - so it's a MMV thing in the end, I guess).

We were supposed to go! And then didn't want to stand in line. So I just played them in the car. ;) Lazy solutions win again!

I've never been a big seafood person, which is why I didn't get a reservation there. And now Captain's Grille is my boyfriend's favorite, so I'm pretty sure we'll be returning there every trip! :rotfl: I'm not sure we'll ever have very much time for Cape May. It's funny how things turn out sometimes.

Well comic sans is definitely not professional, so that makes sense! But it's definitely a DISboards kind of font. I'm a little bored with it though, so I'll be changing it for my next TR or PTR.

I love the WL but I can see how it wouldn't be for everyone, especially if you are from somewhere that is similar to the theme! I'm actually not outdoorsy at all, so I don't really know why I love the WL, I just do! It's just so pretty and quiet and I like that it's near the MK! It definitely needs a gingerbread moose for Christmas! :thumbsup2

I'm not a big seafood person either, but Cape May has something for everyone, which is why I like it there! I really want to go back to Captain's Grille someday...and I want to go to Yachtsman someday also! :)

When I saw your user name I thought I was already reading along on your report. Looks like you're doing two. I'm off to read but wanted to just say hi. :wave:

Haha, yep, I know, it's confusing doing 2 at once...I'm hoping to wrap this one up in the next few weeks so I can concentrate more on my October TR! Glad you're here! :banana:

[Nermel9]

You can have it for free if you gobble

Sunday 12-11

Hello! Seems like forever that I've done an update here! Well, Brandon is officially going back to work next week full time (he's been doing half days for the past 3 weeks) so that means I have lots and lots of DIS time again! :rotfl: I'm hoping to get through this TR soon so I can just concentrate on the October one, since there is still SO much left of that trip, at this rate, it will be October of this year before I finish it!

When we left off, Brandon and I were leaving the Beach Club to go to DHS. We drove over and within minutes we were parking! I love that DHS is right across the street from the Beach Club. I mean, I know you can walk, but I didn't want to leave the car there and have to walk back at the end of the night.

When we got to the entrance, I tried to get a picture of the tree but ended up with this blurred mess

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010409.jpg

I don't know why, I just couldn't get a good picture and I didn't feel like standing there until I did, I was ready to see the Osborne Lights! They were such a big reason I planned this quick December trip, so now that it was finally time to see them, I couldn't wait! We raced through the turnstiles and I tried to calm down a little to appreciate my beautiful DHS, all lit up and glowing at night, and take in some of the Christmas decorations

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010411.jpg

but really, I was ready! We walked really quickly to the back of the park and arrived...at the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights!

I have many, many pictures! I'm going to try to pick out some of my favorites and put them up, because there are way too many to show you them all!

Here's a great one of Brandon ruining my shot:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010412.jpg

Once we went around that corner and were fully immersed in the lights, I was a little overwhelmed...I didn't know where to start! So we just started to walk around and look at the lights, and enjoy the lovely Christmas music!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010416.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010423.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010424.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010426.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010428.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010430.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010432.jpg
I really love this picture, because of all the purple!


http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010435.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010436.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010429.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010452.jpg


Isn't there a story behind that purple cat, like it's supposed to be similar to a hidden Mickey, but it's a cat? Brandon just looked up and was like "look at that purple cat"...I could swear I read something on the DIS about it, like people always search for it and can't find it...leave it to Brandon!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010454.jpg

I love this picture, because it looks like it could really be a street in a city that is decorated for Christmas!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010453.jpg

Like I said, I have many more pictures, but those are some of my favorites! The lights were amazing this year, I like that they changed some things around from previous years! I love seeing the lights dance, my favorite songs to see them dance to are the Trans Siberian Orchestra songs, nothing puts you in a more Christmasy mood than listening to Russian Christmas metal while being surrounded by millions of lights!

Unfortunately, after we looked at the lights for maybe 30 minutes it started POURING. It was raining off and on all night, but the sky just opened up then. I'm glad we got to see the lights for that long rain free, for the most part! We went to the first closest attraction to get out of the rain, which happened to be...

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010459.jpg

The Muppets! I was kind of happy that we just HAD to go in to get out of the rain, because I really love this show!

When it was over, the rain was still coming down, but it wasn't as bad. We started walking and decided to do Star Tours, which said it had a 10 minute wait, but there was no wait at all, it was a walk on, which was awesome!

I wanted to finally trade my Vinyl Luke, so we went to the Villains store and we asked to do a trade. The CM was great, he asked if I was looking for anyone specific, and I said "yep, Darth Vader". He looked at all of them and said he didn't have Darth, but he had a Star Wars Vinyl, so I said I'd take it! It turned out to be Yoda!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010467.jpg

He's so cute, I ended up keeping him!

We walked down the street, because my Tower of Terror had to be ridden, but Brandon was getting hungry, so he stopped to get some ice cream before. I don't remember what he got, but I do remember whatever it was, it was good! Of course, most ice cream is good, so that's kind of a pointless statement!

When he was finished, it was time for my favorite...

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010470.jpg

And guess what? There was NO wait! We just walked in, went right into the library, watched the pre-show, and went on the ride! It was so much fun, of course, and we went right back on! I love this ride so much, I would have went on a few more times, but I was getting tired, and a little hungry, so of course, I had to get a turkey leg. I don't know why I always get one at DHS, but I do. It was a little weird to want one so late at night, after eating so much at Cape May, but eh, why not?

Brandon went up to get my turkey leg and I grabbed at table and looked down the street. It looked so pretty, with the stars, and everything being extra shimmery after the rain

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010471.jpg

*Sigh* I love this place!

Brandon came back with my turkey leg, and said "enjoy it, it was free." I of course, asked "what?" He said the people that were working at the turkey leg window told him if he said gobble gobble, they would give it to him for free. So he said "gobble gobble." Then the CM told him to say it loud enough for the other CM in the back to hear him, so he said it again, and they gave him a free turkey leg! That's pretty cool, since those things are almost $10!

I happily ate my free turkey leg and we talked about what to do next. It was only around 10:00 and we had two more hours of magic hours. What did we decide to do?

Go back to Pop. I know, lame, right? It killed me to leave magic hours at DHS, I love being there late at night, after the crowds leave, but I was getting really tired from my lack of sleep the night before, and I just wanted to get back to Pop, take some NyQuil and try to get some sleep! Brandon had no problem leaving, so we made our way out of the park.

We did stop to use the restroom before we left, and I saw this adorable window on the way out:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%202/P1010477.jpg

So ridiculous! I love it!

I was so sad to leave DHS so early, but I managed to leave without crying or throwing myself on the ground, refusing to go, and we went back to Pop. As soon as we got back to the room I changed, took some NyQuil and was passed out within minutes.


Up next...Day 3 at Epcot and MK!

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

The purple cat is hidden in the display each year, it is kinda like a hidden Mickey! I think it was part of the original Osborne's display.

Your pictures of the lights are beautiful! I agree, my favorite is when they "dance" to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Just purely wonderfully magical!

That's the funniest story about Brandon gobbling for your turkey leg!!! :rotfl: Definitely cool that he got it for free!

[MEK]

Cool window display.

I didn't know there was a hidden purple cat. Very cool that you found it. Your pictures are lovely. The colors are so vibrant. Love it!

Woo hoo for a free turkey leg. I would definitely gobble gobble for some free food.

Ugh - I can't believe how much it rained. I guess I'm glad we missed that weekend after all. :rotfl:

[SoNotAPrincess]

Good gobbling, Brandon! How cool that he got y'all a free turkey leg!

I wonder if we were at DHS on the same night? Our night was almost exactly like yours, except we did ToT before Star Tours. We ducked into the Muppets, too, because it was the closest way to get out of the torrential downpour. The rain was just terrible that night!

Love your photos of the lights...especially the purple picture :lovestruc!

Ah, good ol' Nyquil...I hoped you woke up feeling better!

[marDgreen88]

Okay, I'm gonna need to join in on your October TR now! I was under the impression that it was almost done for some reason, haha I have no clue why.

You got some amazing pictures of the lights, goodness! Honestly, it seems like whenever I tried to get pictures, the lights were dancing so I would get a bunch of darkness haha.

THE PURPLE CAT! Yeah! When Disney bought the Christmas lights from the Osbornes, they accidentally took the cat from their Halloween display, too! So now every year they put it in a different place. HOW FUNNY that he just saw it!

Ahhhh YAY for the Yoda!!! Hahah I love him.

Brandon seriously got a free turkey leg for saying GOBBLE GOBBLE? That's the coolest thing ever. Why are some CMs so awesome?!?!

[dara00]

I've never seen the Osborne lights (yet...) but there's a light display near by my house where you can set your radio to a station they broadcast and the lights dance in time. My favorite is the Trans Siberian Orchestra too!

Love the Muppets! :)

I saw someone on the boards here post a lot of great pictures after a rain storm. It seems to make the pictures more alive or something. Also, I think at night you can better photograph window displays! I tried and kept getting reflections!

[wdwgirl03]

Love the Osborne Lights! It really is amazing. I agree about the Trans Siberian Orchestra songs...I had to buy one of the songs on itunes because it reminded me of the lights. :rolleyes1

Tower of Terror with no wait is always nice. :thumbsup2

haha, the Yoda vinylmation is cute and that's awesome about Brandon getting the free turkey leg.

[kittylady1972]

LOVE LOVE :lovestruc those Osborne lights. I can't wait to go back this year and see them again!

I've never heard about the cat. Now I'll have to look for it at our next trip!

Free turkey leg = AWESOME! Man I love those things but I usually get them from the MK cart. I think I've had them at HS once but many more times at MK. I'm looking forward to having one for lunch in just another month!!! :thumbsup2

[Shannon84]

I am so sad, we were there for the marathon the last few days of the lights display, but since I had to get up so early we didnt stay to see it :headache:

They are so beautiful and I love the music that they play there too!! The purple cat...ive seen that on a Christmas special (the same one I saw the decorate camp sites at Disney!!) The purple cat came over with when it was handed off to Disney...I think by accident...but each year they hide it in a new spot!!

That is awesome your turkey leg was free...maybe the CM in the back bet the one in the front the next guest wouldn't gobble for a free one :lmao:

[Joyciemc]

This update made me realize that I am almost never at DHS at night. I did see the Osborne lights years ago, but other than that I can't remember the last time I was there in the dark. We don't do Fantasmic, so maybe that's part of it :confused3

I do know that I will try to have some later days there in my upcoming trips!

[TanzUnited99]

WOW love the pics of the Osborne lights - absolutely amazing!! :lovestruc

:woohoo: on being able to walk onto ToT - what great fun especially with it being dark as well!

Haha at the story behind getting the free turkey leg - am glad you enjoyed it :thumbsup2

[Mrs T 2009]

Awesome Pictures!!!!

I thought it was hilarious that Brandon only had to "gobble gobble" for the turkey leg! I would too if it was free! LOL

I put "Go to WDW at Christmastime" on my bucket list! LOL :)

[klacey1]

Uh oh, I didn't know they played Trans Siberian Orchestra at the Osbourne Family Lights! Zach HATES, and I mean HATES them!! I'll have to keep that one to myself when I plan our Christmas trip! :rotfl:

[Simba22]

Aww! I'm so sorry it started raining on you guys! Glad you got to see the lights for a while, plus you got in some good rides AND a free turkey leg! Sounds like a great night to me!

I think there is a big difference between CHOOSING to leave a park, and HAVING to leave. I know it's sounds silly, but when you make the decision it makes it easier!

Hopefully you got a good night's sleep!

[KatMark]

Jen, I love all the photos of the Osborn lights. And I'm so glad you got to do so many rides with just a walk-on (guess all those people left when the rain started coming down).

[oboedm]

I really need to stop reading your TRs. Now I HAVE to go during the Christmas season! The lights look amazing, the Turkey Leg sounds great (still need to try one of those), and I love all the walk on rides! I can't remember... was this trip earlier in Dec? Or more mid-Dec?

[Nermel9]

The purple cat is hidden in the display each year, it is kinda like a hidden Mickey! I think it was part of the original Osborne's display.

Your pictures of the lights are beautiful! I agree, my favorite is when they "dance" to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Just purely wonderfully magical!

That's the funniest story about Brandon gobbling for your turkey leg!!! :rotfl: Definitely cool that he got it for free!

I can't believe Brandon just looks up and sees the purple cat! If I told him to look for it though, he would have never found it! :laughing:

Thank you! I love the Trans Siberian Orchestra Christmas music, and being in Disney with the lights, it's so perfect!

I love that he got that turkey leg for free! :laughing:

Cool window display.

I didn't know there was a hidden purple cat. Very cool that you found it. Your pictures are lovely. The colors are so vibrant. Love it!

Woo hoo for a free turkey leg. I would definitely gobble gobble for some free food.

Ugh - I can't believe how much it rained. I guess I'm glad we missed that weekend after all. :rotfl:

Yeah, I remember reading about the purple cat before I left for my trip, but I couldn't remember the story behind it, but I knew it was hidden!

Thank you, I took so many pictures of the lights, they're so beautiful you can't help it!

I know, it rained a lot! And there are still 2 more days of rain to share!:rotfl2:

Good gobbling, Brandon! How cool that he got y'all a free turkey leg!

I wonder if we were at DHS on the same night? Our night was almost exactly like yours, except we did ToT before Star Tours. We ducked into the Muppets, too, because it was the closest way to get out of the torrential downpour. The rain was just terrible that night!

Love your photos of the lights...especially the purple picture :lovestruc!

Ah, good ol' Nyquil...I hoped you woke up feeling better!

Haha, I can't believe he had to gobble, but whatever, it was free, so that works!

I think we were, I remember reading about it on your TR and I think it was the same night! I can't believe how hard it started raining, it seemed like it was going to just sprinkle at first, but then it turned into a hurricane, practically! :laughing:

Thanks, I love taking pictures of the lights, they're so pretty!

Okay, I'm gonna need to join in on your October TR now! I was under the impression that it was almost done for some reason, haha I have no clue why.

You got some amazing pictures of the lights, goodness! Honestly, it seems like whenever I tried to get pictures, the lights were dancing so I would get a bunch of darkness haha.

THE PURPLE CAT! Yeah! When Disney bought the Christmas lights from the Osbornes, they accidentally took the cat from their Halloween display, too! So now every year they put it in a different place. HOW FUNNY that he just saw it!

Ahhhh YAY for the Yoda!!! Hahah I love him.

Brandon seriously got a free turkey leg for saying GOBBLE GOBBLE? That's the coolest thing ever. Why are some CMs so awesome?!?!

Come join the October TR, it's only half finished, I still have 5 more days of trip to write about! I actually like doing those updates more than this one, only because when I write about this trip, I remember being sick and how miserable it was! :laughing:

Haha, that happened to me too, as soon as I'd try to get a picture, the lights would dance, but I made up for it when they weren't! I figured when they were dancing, I'd just try to watch them and enjoy it!

I love that story of the purple cat, that's so cool! I can't believe Brandon found it without me even telling him to look for it! Figures! :laughing:

I love awesome CM's, especially ones that give you free food! :laughing: I think they only had a few left, since it was so late, so they probably would have thrown them out anyway! :confused3

I've never seen the Osborne lights (yet...) but there's a light display near by my house where you can set your radio to a station they broadcast and the lights dance in time. My favorite is the Trans Siberian Orchestra too!

Love the Muppets! :)

I saw someone on the boards here post a lot of great pictures after a rain storm. It seems to make the pictures more alive or something. Also, I think at night you can better photograph window displays! I tried and kept getting reflections!

That's pretty cool, I'd love to have a house like that in my neighborhood! :thumbsup2

The Muppets are so cute, I really love that show, even if it is a little dated!

The parks do look pretty in pictures after the rain, everything just shimmers a little more! I'm terrible at taking pictures of window displays, I think you have to have your flash off! I always forget!

[Nermel9]

Love the Osborne Lights! It really is amazing. I agree about the Trans Siberian Orchestra songs...I had to buy one of the songs on itunes because it reminded me of the lights. :rolleyes1

Tower of Terror with no wait is always nice. :thumbsup2

haha, the Yoda vinylmation is cute and that's awesome about Brandon getting the free turkey leg.

I did the same thing, last year, I bought 2 Trans Siberian Orchestra songs on Itunes and listened to them constantly to remind me of the lights! :laughing:

Isn't the Yoda vinyl adorable! I still want Darth Vader, though!

I love that Brandon got a free turkey leg...only in Disney! :thumbsup2

LOVE LOVE :lovestruc those Osborne lights. I can't wait to go back this year and see them again!

I've never heard about the cat. Now I'll have to look for it at our next trip!

Free turkey leg = AWESOME! Man I love those things but I usually get them from the MK cart. I think I've had them at HS once but many more times at MK. I'm looking forward to having one for lunch in just another month!!! :thumbsup2

Aren't the lights amazing! I can't imagine not seeing them around Christmas!

I only heard about the cat from the DIS, and I didn't really remember what it was, only that it was hidden when we saw it! I'm glad we did see it though, it's pretty cool!

I love the turkey legs! I'd probably get one in MK, but for some reason, it's like, my tradition now to get one in DHS! Jealous that you get to have one in a month!

I am so sad, we were there for the marathon the last few days of the lights display, but since I had to get up so early we didnt stay to see it :headache:

They are so beautiful and I love the music that they play there too!! The purple cat...ive seen that on a Christmas special (the same one I saw the decorate camp sites at Disney!!) The purple cat came over with when it was handed off to Disney...I think by accident...but each year they hide it in a new spot!!

That is awesome your turkey leg was free...maybe the CM in the back bet the one in the front the next guest wouldn't gobble for a free one :lmao:

Aww, you didn't get to see the lights? That's too bad! :( You need to go on a Christmas Disney trip!

I want to see the special you saw about Disney! I thought I saw all of the holiday Disney specials, but I don't remember anything about the purple cat! I love that, it's so cute that they hide little things in the lights!

Haha, probably, I'm sure the CM's get bored selling turkey legs all day, they probably want to see if people will do weird things just to entertain them! :rotfl:

This update made me realize that I am almost never at DHS at night. I did see the Osborne lights years ago, but other than that I can't remember the last time I was there in the dark. We don't do Fantasmic, so maybe that's part of it :confused3

I do know that I will try to have some later days there in my upcoming trips!

That's funny, I feel like I'm always at DHS at night and never in the day! We have to do magic hours, I love magic hours there! We don't do Fantasmic either (ok, well, we did in October, but that was totally spur of the moment!) I just like to be there after the crowds thin out and I can ride ToT over and over! :thumbsup2

I hope you get to go there at night on one of your upcoming trips, it's so pretty there at night!

WOW love the pics of the Osborne lights - absolutely amazing!! :lovestruc

:woohoo: on being able to walk onto ToT - what great fun especially with it being dark as well!

Haha at the story behind getting the free turkey leg - am glad you enjoyed it :thumbsup2

Thanks! The Osborne lights are really lovely!:lovestruc

I love ToT and when there is no wait, that's even better!

I love turkey legs, and this one was even better because it was free! :upsidedow

[Nermel9]

Awesome Pictures!!!!

I thought it was hilarious that Brandon only had to "gobble gobble" for the turkey leg! I would too if it was free! LOL

I put "Go to WDW at Christmastime" on my bucket list! LOL :)

Thank you!

I would totally have gobbled for a free turkey leg too, I wish I went up with him but I was sitting at the table, it must have been funny! :rotfl:

YES! Go to Disney at Christmas! :thumbsup2

Uh oh, I didn't know they played Trans Siberian Orchestra at the Osbourne Family Lights! Zach HATES, and I mean HATES them!! I'll have to keep that one to myself when I plan our Christmas trip! :rotfl:

What??? How can Zach hate Trans Siberian Orchestra? I mean, I understand the normal music, but the Christmas music is so wonderful! Just don't tell him, and maybe when one of the songs plays, and he sees the lights dancing, he will appreciate it more! :laughing:

Aww! I'm so sorry it started raining on you guys! Glad you got to see the lights for a while, plus you got in some good rides AND a free turkey leg! Sounds like a great night to me!

I think there is a big difference between CHOOSING to leave a park, and HAVING to leave. I know it's sounds silly, but when you make the decision it makes it easier!

Hopefully you got a good night's sleep!

Yeah, it was a very rainy trip, strange for December! But I'm glad we had a decent amount of rain-free time to see the lights!

It is easier to leave when it's your choice, especially when you're not feeling well. I knew I had 2 left, and that if I wanted to get through them, I had to rest. :confused3 I'm just always so sad to basically skip EMH's!

Jen, I love all the photos of the Osborn lights. And I'm so glad you got to do so many rides with just a walk-on (guess all those people left when the rain started coming down).

Thanks! The crowds were pretty low at DHS that night, which was nice! That's really the only good thing about the rain, people stay away! :rotfl2:

I really need to stop reading your TRs. Now I HAVE to go during the Christmas season! The lights look amazing, the Turkey Leg sounds great (still need to try one of those), and I love all the walk on rides! I can't remember... was this trip earlier in Dec? Or more mid-Dec?

Haha, I'm sorry! I love going during Christmas, that and the Food and Wine festival are my 2 favorite times to go! I love the turkey legs, they are so good! :cool1:

Our trip was December 10-14, I think we were there right before the Christmas crowds started coming in and right after Pop Warner, so it was a nice time to go, I'd definitely do those dates again! Oh, and I will be joining your PTR, I just keep forgetting because I'm hardly at the PTR section of the boards! But I will! :thumbsup2

[ronnmel]

:rotfl2: That's so funny about Brandon getting a free Turkey Leg just for saying Gobble gobble out loud!

[Nermel9]

:rotfl2: That's so funny about Brandon getting a free Turkey Leg just for saying Gobble gobble out loud!

Haha, isn't it! Some CM's are so awesome! :banana:

[Dreamsdocometrue9112]

I've been following your October TR, and I'm subbing into this one as well! :) I love all of the Christmas decorations!

[dara00]

That's pretty cool, I'd love to have a house like that in my neighborhood! :thumbsup2

The Muppets are so cute, I really love that show, even if it is a little dated!

The parks do look pretty in pictures after the rain, everything just shimmers a little more! I'm terrible at taking pictures of window displays, I think you have to have your flash off! I always forget!

It's actually a business, not a house, so it's really elaborate!

yeah about the flash being off, but in direct sunlight I had way too much reflection either way!

[ditsypixie]

I have been following your Oct TR and found this one and I am all caught up! And as I am reading, I turn to my husband and say, "it is time to plan our next trip. It has been too long!" Ok, just since Oct but I am having serious withdrawals!!:lmao:

Sorry your trip started out with you sick:sick:

[Nermel9]

I've been following your October TR, and I'm subbing into this one as well! :) I love all of the Christmas decorations!

Welcome, glad to have you here! :cool1: Aren't the Christmas decorations amazing!

It's actually a business, not a house, so it's really elaborate!

yeah about the flash being off, but in direct sunlight I had way too much reflection either way!

Wow that sounds awesome! I can't take a good picture of a window in the sun, either! I wish I knew more about photography! :)

I have been following your Oct TR and found this one and I am all caught up! And as I am reading, I turn to my husband and say, "it is time to plan our next trip. It has been too long!" Ok, just since Oct but I am having serious withdrawals!!:lmao:

Sorry your trip started out with you sick:sick:

Yay, welcome, glad you're here!

Haha, I know what you mean, I always have Disney withdrawls! :laughing:

Ugh, yeah, being sick on this trip was awful. I'm glad I get a do-over trip in May! :laughing:

[Nermel9]

It's 11:30, is that too early for a margarita?

Monday December 12

Hi everyone! Welcome to Day 3 of our trip!

So the night before I took NyQuil and passed out at a pretty reasonable time, for vacation anyway, I was hoping to get a good night's sleep, since the night before was so awful. It was better, but not much. I woke up 4 hours later with my throat killing me, so I had to take more Advil. I thought about taking more NyQuil to knock me out, but I was afraid I'd sleep all day if I did! So I just popped more Advil and tried to go back to sleep.

I tossed and turned all night while Brandon snored away next to me. Finally around like, 7:30 I gave up. I got up and got dressed.

Wanting to avoid a fight like the morning before, I decided to just sneak out of the room and walk around for a little while. I was dying for some tea to soothe my throat a little, so I grabbed my refillable mug and my Hipster and was out the door. I'm sure I told Brandon I was going, but I don't remember.

I went down the stairs and into Everything Pop and looked at the cute merchandise for a little while.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010489.jpg
Totally getting these on my next trip!


http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010491.jpg

I thought about getting my sister a few of these glasses since she just told me the day before that she was having Christmas at her house this year, but then I decided against it, I thought it would be stupid to get glasses you would only use once a year! They're cute, though!

I went into the Food Court and got some tea and then headed outside. It was a nice morning, and I really needed the fresh air. I like the value resorts, but it seems to me that the rooms get really stuffy. Maybe it's because they don't have a ceiling fan, I don't know, but I remember feeling the same way at ASMu, like I had to get out of the room for a little while!

I really wanted to explore Pop on this trip, and I knew Brandon wouldn't want to, so I just wandered around by myself.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010492.jpg

The pool looks awesome, I'm so sad we didn't get to go in it, but I wasn't in a swimming mood, being sick and everything.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010493.jpg
Didn't there used to be water here to play in?


http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010496.jpg

I loved these signs, I wanted to read all of them from each decade, but that would have taken way too long...I read most of the ones from the 70's and 80's, though!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010498.jpg

I got my first glimpse of the new Art of Animation resort too!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010504.jpg

I have to stay there someday, it looks so cute!

I started making my way back to the room at that point, and my mug was getting empty, so I thought about getting more tea on the way back. However, since I'm such a good wife, I decided to get Brandon some coffee in it instead. I stopped at Everything Pop, filled my mug with coffee and grabbed a few sugars for him and went back to the room.

He actually woke up when I came in, which was around 9:00 at that point, and he got up and got dressed with no complaints (probably because i brought him coffee!) Within maybe a half an hour, we were on our way to a park!

I was feeling a little better due to the combination of fresh air, Advil and tea, so I was pretty excited to get to our first park of the day...any guesses as to where that might be?

Of course, Epcot! :woohoo:

We parked and made our way in quickly, and what happens? It starts raining! UGHHHH! It wasn't pouring like the night before, but it hard enough that we wanted to stop and put our ponchos on.

Ponchos on, we made our way to where else? The Land! Gotta get those Soarin' FP's!

Brandon was grumbling about being hungry, so we decided to eat at Sunshine Seasons. We ate there in October and we both really liked it! We both got the same thing, a breakfast panini.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010505.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010506.jpg

It was good, but there is just way too much meat on there for me! I had a bite of Brandon's in October and I liked it, so I thought I'd get my own this time, and it's just too much! There's like, bacon, turkey, pork AND an egg and cheese on there. It's intense! Good, but next time I'll get a danish!

We finished up, and I noticed that the stand by line for Soarin was only 25 minutes...I couldn't pass that up, so we got in line to go on my favorite!

When we were in the queue, I wanted to take a picture of the adorable little Soarin details, which, being a DISer, I thought was perfectly acceptable, but Brandon thought I was being ridiculous!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010509.jpg

"Why don't you take a picture of that Exit sign, that would be epic"

"Fine, I will!"

As we were walking by, I held up my camera and snapped a picture of the awesome Exit sign, and it ended up being a really cool picture! :rotfl:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010510.jpg
Haha, Epic!


So the stand by wait time sign totally lied. It wasn't a 25 minute wait. It was more like 45 minutes. I mean, we just stood there not moving for such a long time, I think there was a problem with something, because we seriously did not move for like, 20 minutes. Brandon wanted to leave, but I was sure it would just be a few more minutes...if I had known it would be 45 I would have left!

In the end though, we got to do Soarin, and it was amazing, as always! My favorite!

When we got outside, we were happy to see that the rain had let up, and the sky was...well, semi blue!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010512.jpg

It put me in such a good mood! I didn't care that I was sick or my throat was hurting, I was so happy to be in Disney, I wanted to just relax and take in Epcot.

"What do you want to do now"

"Hmmm...it's 11:30, is that too early for a margarita?"

"Not on vacation!"

Settled. We were on our way to Mexico!

When we got to Mexico, we discovered that La Cava doesn't open til 12. Ugh, seriously???

So we looked around at the pretty decorations

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010522.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010523.jpg

and went on the Gran Fiesta Tour to pass the time! When we were finished, it was still like, 5 minutes before 12! So we just perched ourselves outside of La Cava and waited.

"Heyyy, you guys waiting for the bar to open, like us?"

Some random girl and her boyfriend/husband said something like that to us about waiting outside of La Cava, which I thought was kind of funny! I'm surprised there weren't more people doing the same thing! :confused3

We went in, ordered our margaritas, paid, and were out the door!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010525.jpg

Mmm, I love that blue one! Yum!

Margaritas in hand, we were ready to explore the World Showcase!

Up Next...the World Showcase!

[MEK]

Yes - I have missed margaritas before just because the Cave doesn't open until noon. I would say that ritas and cold medicine go quite well together. I hope its just the thing that makes you feel better.

Cool Pop pictures. The Art of Animation resort looks cool. I hope they open the bridge between the two when it finally opens!

[Joyciemc]

Ahhh, that is exactly a conversation Ben and I would have at 11:30 at Epcot. Perfect time for a margarita!

[marDgreen88]

Pop looks so cute. You're right, I'm pretty sure (from reading other TRs) that there used to be a water play area where Goofy is with the surf board. Without it, it seems funny that he has a surf board! hahaha.
I agree, Art of Animation is going to be awesome! It'll probably end up my favorite value resort.
That exit sign picture IS epic. :thumbsup2

[IheartDDuck]

Okay, first off, I want to get a free turkey leg just by saying gobble gobble! I have no shame, I would do it for sure!

I get made fun of for taking pictures of random stuff too. But don't worry. The picture of the exit sign was EPIC! :eek:

[Simba22]

ok #1 - those margaritas look amazing and I wish I had one right now
#2 - do you know if they make them frozen too? or just on the rocks?

I'm so sorry you were having so much trouble sleeping! I'm sure that was not helping you to feel better! Nice that you got some time to walk around the resort a bit! The Art of Animation Resort looks SO COOL! I can't imagine paying to stay in the Lion King or Finding Nemo suites though where there is only 2 of us...and as nice as the Little Mermaid rooms look...that's just not where I want to stay! :laughing:

Glad that the fresh air (and tea/advil concoction) made you feel a little better!

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

LOL we literally did the exact same thing as you at La Cava, tried getting there at 11, actually! Why does it open so late??? :lmao:

That panini does look like it has a lot going on with it! :laughing:

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

First of all, it's NEVER too early for a margarita in Epcot! Secondly, not sure if you know this but the margarita stand outside of the pavilion opens at 11.

And I have to say, that Soarin' line is the worst!! Even if you do make it past the person who directs you to the left or right, the line takes forever!! They've got to figure out a better system.

[Shannon84]

I think they are actually removing the Goofy water jets at POP...they are doing outdoor movies at nighttime now...at least thats what the CM checking us in said :rotfl: I could be lying!

Its NEVER too early for a drink on vaca...thats the first rule, but before that it is NEVER EVER too early for a delicious margarita in EPCOT :thumbsup2

Tell Brandon I really liked your first Soarin pic!! And your Exit one is EPIC!!! :rotfl:

[ditsypixie]

I agree with everyone...it is NEVER too early for a margarita on vacation!:thumbsup2

[Queenofallthings]

The Exit sign looks like it's Soarin' :lmao:

The same thing happened to us....we waited just like you did and my sister asked the same question...is it too early to have one? Ummm....absolutely not!! We just need patience:rotfl2:

[kittylady1972]

I'm sure it's never to early for a margarita as well...but it can be too late as we discovered on our last trip! We walked past the place and really wanted to try one...but we were in a rush to try to catch Illuminations! so we went right outside at 9pm to catch Illuminations, thinking we could just return afterwards and get a margarita...but it was CLOSED! The HORROR! :rotfl: Guess we'll just have to try to hit it early on our next trip. I think my DH might like the avacado one and I'll have to have one with him so he won't have to drink alone!

Another plus to staying at Boardwalk...we'll be able to walk over there at any time! :thumbsup2

[ronnmel]

There is never a short wait for Soarin, even with FPs.

What flavor is that blue margarita?

[Nermel9]

Yes - I have missed margaritas before just because the Cave doesn't open until noon. I would say that ritas and cold medicine go quite well together. I hope its just the thing that makes you feel better.

Cool Pop pictures. The Art of Animation resort looks cool. I hope they open the bridge between the two when it finally opens!

I remember in one of your TR's, you getting to the Cave too early! :rotfl:

Oh god, I'm way too paranoid to mix cold medicine and a margarita! :scared1: I wasn't actually taking cold medicine during the day, just NyQuil at night to sleep. During the day I felt ok, except for my throat, which I was taking Advil for, and I made sure I took one hours earlier, because I figured I'd be having a drink at some point in Epcot!

I hope they open the bridge too, that would be kind of annoying if they didn't! I really like the Little Mermaid rooms, they are so adorable!

Ahhh, that is exactly a conversation Ben and I would have at 11:30 at Epcot. Perfect time for a margarita!

:laughing: I'm sure a lot of people ask themselves the same thing! I guess if they didn't want people drinking so early, they wouldn't open the WS until later!

Pop looks so cute. You're right, I'm pretty sure (from reading other TRs) that there used to be a water play area where Goofy is with the surf board. Without it, it seems funny that he has a surf board! hahaha.
I agree, Art of Animation is going to be awesome! It'll probably end up my favorite value resort.
That exit sign picture IS epic. :thumbsup2

It's kind of sad they took the water play area away, from the pictures I remember seeing, it looked really cute! :sad2:

I can't wait for AoA to open, I really want to stay in a Little Mermaid room, they look amazing!

Haha, isn't that a great Exit picture? :rotfl2:

Okay, first off, I want to get a free turkey leg just by saying gobble gobble! I have no shame, I would do it for sure!

I get made fun of for taking pictures of random stuff too. But don't worry. The picture of the exit sign was EPIC! :eek:

Haha, well, the next time you're in DHS late, try to order a turkey leg and maybe they will give you one for free! :thumbsup2 I'm sure that couldn't have been the first time they did that!

Brandon is really bad with making fun of my picture taking, but I like to get pictures of everything, especially my favorite rides! :laughing:

ok #1 - those margaritas look amazing and I wish I had one right now
#2 - do you know if they make them frozen too? or just on the rocks?

I'm so sorry you were having so much trouble sleeping! I'm sure that was not helping you to feel better! Nice that you got some time to walk around the resort a bit! The Art of Animation Resort looks SO COOL! I can't imagine paying to stay in the Lion King or Finding Nemo suites though where there is only 2 of us...and as nice as the Little Mermaid rooms look...that's just not where I want to stay! :laughing:

Glad that the fresh air (and tea/advil concoction) made you feel a little better!

Those margaritas ARE amazing! :thumbsup2 Hmmm, I'm assuming they make frozen ones at La Cava, I just always get them on the rocks because they're easier to drink! I know they have frozen ones at the margarita stand outside of Mexico!

I think the Little Mermaid rooms are adorable! I'm not sure how Brandon would feel staying in one, but I really want to when they're open! It's annoying the Lion King rooms are family suites, they look awesome!

LOL we literally did the exact same thing as you at La Cava, tried getting there at 11, actually! Why does it open so late??? :lmao:

That panini does look like it has a lot going on with it! :laughing:

I don't know why they open so late, they should really just open at 11 like the rest of World Showcase! :laughing: You know how many people probably go there, wanting to get margaritas!

The panini was really good, but after about half of it, it was just too much! :eek:

[Nermel9]

First of all, it's NEVER too early for a margarita in Epcot! Secondly, not sure if you know this but the margarita stand outside of the pavilion opens at 11.

And I have to say, that Soarin' line is the worst!! Even if you do make it past the person who directs you to the left or right, the line takes forever!! They've got to figure out a better system.

Haha, I'm glad so many of you are ok with drinking margaritas so early! It's vacation, why not! :cool1:

I've never actually gotten a margarita from the stand outside of Mexico, they're frozen right? I prefer the ones from La Cava, because they have them on the rocks, and they're much easier to drink that way, I take so long with frozen drinks! I would like to try that rainbow one someday, though, it's so pretty!

Ugh, the Soarin' line is awful! :sad2: It's annoying because they have to load so many people onto the gliders at once, and that seems to take forever! They need to build like, 10 more gliders! :laughing:

I think they are actually removing the Goofy water jets at POP...they are doing outdoor movies at nighttime now...at least thats what the CM checking us in said :rotfl: I could be lying!

Its NEVER too early for a drink on vaca...thats the first rule, but before that it is NEVER EVER too early for a delicious margarita in EPCOT :thumbsup2

Tell Brandon I really liked your first Soarin pic!! And your Exit one is EPIC!!! :rotfl:

Ohhh, is that where they do the movies at night? I had no idea, I assumed they did them somewhere, but I didn't know where! Makes sense, but those water jets did look pretty cool!

Haha, I'm going to keep this in mind for May, the second we land in Orlando, I'm getting a drink! :laughing: Start my vacation off right!

I like that Soarin' picture too, I love those little glider symbols they have for Soarin', they're so simple, yet SO Disney!

I agree with everyone...it is NEVER too early for a margarita on vacation!:thumbsup2

Yay, I'm glad everyone agrees! :woohoo: That will probably be my first stop in May! :rotfl:

The Exit sign looks like it's Soarin' :lmao:

The same thing happened to us....we waited just like you did and my sister asked the same question...is it too early to have one? Ummm....absolutely not!! We just need patience:rotfl2:

:rotfl: It does, doesn't it! I thought that picture was awesome, since I was taking it as a joke!

They really need to open La Cava at 11, it seems like a lot of people are waiting around til 12 to start drinking! :laughing:

I'm sure it's never to early for a margarita as well...but it can be too late as we discovered on our last trip! We walked past the place and really wanted to try one...but we were in a rush to try to catch Illuminations! so we went right outside at 9pm to catch Illuminations, thinking we could just return afterwards and get a margarita...but it was CLOSED! The HORROR! :rotfl: Guess we'll just have to try to hit it early on our next trip. I think my DH might like the avacado one and I'll have to have one with him so he won't have to drink alone!

Another plus to staying at Boardwalk...we'll be able to walk over there at any time! :thumbsup2

Oh no, it was closed! :eek: That's too bad, but yeah, things close at exactly 9 in Epcot, it's annoying! I hate that on EMH nights during the F&W festival, the booths still close at 9! They should at least keep things open during Illuminations!

Staying at the Boardwalk will be awesome, you can walk over to Epcot and get slushies and margaritas any time you want! :banana:

There is never a short wait for Soarin, even with FPs.

What flavor is that blue margarita?

Ugh, I know! I wish I didn't love Soarin' so much, or I'd seriously skip it, but it's one of my favorites!

I have no idea what flavor the blue margarita is, I think it's called a Magic Blue margarita...it's really good, I know that! :laughing:

[oboedm]

Great update! I like the values, and would love to stay in AoA, but the ceiling fan thing bothers me! Living in AZ, fans in every room is a MUST... we even have one in the dining room-- so that the kitchen gets some air flow! It isn't just air flow, either. I like the white noise sound while sleeping. Can't go to sleep without the fan on, even in winter! (Granted, our winters are the same temps as summers in other parts of the country, LOL!)

[407-W-DISNEY]

I agree with everyone - It's never too early for a margarita!
Sorry you were sick, that's a bummer on vacation :mad:

[ronnmel]

Ugh, I know! I wish I didn't love Soarin' so much, or I'd seriously skip it, but it's one of my favorites!

I have no idea what flavor the blue margarita is, I think it's called a Magic Blue margarita...it's really good, I know that! :laughing:

Blue is a perfectly acceptable flavor. :rotfl:

[Nermel9]

Great update! I like the values, and would love to stay in AoA, but the ceiling fan thing bothers me! Living in AZ, fans in every room is a MUST... we even have one in the dining room-- so that the kitchen gets some air flow! It isn't just air flow, either. I like the white noise sound while sleeping. Can't go to sleep without the fan on, even in winter! (Granted, our winters are the same temps as summers in other parts of the country, LOL!)

Thanks! I know, I think it's kind of annoying that there is no ceiling fan in the values, I mean, I feel like it wouldn't cost that much more to put them in the rooms. :confused3 I'd much rather have that than a fridge! I wish I could use a fan while I'm sleeping all year, I have a window fan for the spring that I LOVE using at night just for the white noise! :thumbsup2

I agree with everyone - It's never too early for a margarita!
Sorry you were sick, that's a bummer on vacation :mad:

Definitely not! :banana: Thanks, it was really annoying being sick!

Blue is a perfectly acceptable flavor. :rotfl:

Haha, I agree! :rotfl:

[Merida]

Aw, I'm sorry you weren't feeling well! Though I'm totally jealous of your medicine-taking ability - I always swear that next time I will take medicine, I never seem to actually do it. I hate swallowing pills so much! My preferred sore throat medicine is vanilla pudding. ;)

My secret favorite activity is exploring resorts. I don't even know why! Maybe because they're quiet? Maybe I just really, really like native Floridian flora? Who knows! It's just so relaxing and you can usually pick up yummy treats somewhere along the way. AoA looks cute, but also kind of plasticy? If that's even a word! idk. Maybe Pop will empty out a little when AoA opens and I'll try there first (I'm always behind the times on trends :lmao:). Everyone's Pop pictures look really fun and there's trivia! BONUS.

Oh, those margaritas look so good! I've never actually had one - I'm a Long Island Iced Tea/sweet tea vodka + peach schnapps/syrup/lemonade girl. But they're blue (okay, I have had a blue Long Island, but it wasn't very good). And if the store is open, it's not too early for a drink!! That's my rule. :goodvibes

[Mrs T 2009]

HAHAHA I bet the coffee helped get him up without any problems ;)

I LOVE that exit sign. EPIC!!! :D LOL

Fresh Air can do wonders can't it? :)

That Panini looked pretty big! I doubt I could eat it all either!

[Nermel9]

Aw, I'm sorry you weren't feeling well! Though I'm totally jealous of your medicine-taking ability - I always swear that next time I will take medicine, I never seem to actually do it. I hate swallowing pills so much! My preferred sore throat medicine is vanilla pudding. ;)

My secret favorite activity is exploring resorts. I don't even know why! Maybe because they're quiet? Maybe I just really, really like native Floridian flora? Who knows! It's just so relaxing and you can usually pick up yummy treats somewhere along the way. AoA looks cute, but also kind of plasticy? If that's even a word! idk. Maybe Pop will empty out a little when AoA opens and I'll try there first (I'm always behind the times on trends :lmao:). Everyone's Pop pictures look really fun and there's trivia! BONUS.

Oh, those margaritas look so good! I've never actually had one - I'm a Long Island Iced Tea/sweet tea vodka + peach schnapps/syrup/lemonade girl. But they're blue (okay, I have had a blue Long Island, but it wasn't very good). And if the store is open, it's not too early for a drink!! That's my rule. :goodvibes

OMG I'm jealous of your non-medicine taking ability! I have headaches all the time, and when I do, I just pop some Excedrin. My stomach hurts, I take Pepto. I have heartburn, I take Zantac. I'm afraid I'm killing my poor kidneys or my liver with all this medication! When I go a few days without taking Excedrin or Ibuprofen, I'm actually proud of myself! I wish I could just not take anything. I wish I didn't have headaches all the time, it sucks!

I love exploring resorts too! I've been to all of the deluxes except for SSR and OKW, so I really want an excuse to explore them! Oh, and BLT. But I'm pretty sure you can't get in there unless you're an actual DVC member, right? Although, there is that walkway that connects it to the CR...hmmm...

AoA does look plasticy, you're absolutely right! But I'd still stay there! :cool1: Pop is awesome, I hope it empties out a little so you can stay there! It's such a fun resort, it really makes you feel like you're in DISNEY, you know! Those giant icons are just so amazing!

You've never had a margarita??? I'd say go have one, but if you have made it this long without having one, just wait til your next Disney trip and have your first one at La Cava! They are the BEST ever! :worship:

A blue Long Island Iced Tea? That's so weird! I love the sweet tea vodka! I sometimes wish I drank more so I could drink these yummy things, but I seriously never freakin drink. I bought a tiny little bottle of toasted marshmallow vodka for new year's eve and it's still in my freezer. :sad2: :laughing:

HAHAHA I bet the coffee helped get him up without any problems ;)

I LOVE that exit sign. EPIC!!! :D LOL

Fresh Air can do wonders can't it? :)

That Panini looked pretty big! I doubt I could eat it all either!

Haha, isn't that the best picture of an exit sign? :laughing:

I'm so glad I just got out and went for a walk by myself, if I stayed in that room, I would have just woken Brandon up and I would have ended up feeling worse.

The panini was really good but it was SO filling! I'm really sticking to a danish next time we are at Sunshine Seasons! :)

[KatMark]

LOVE the "epic" exit sign. Perfect! Take that, Brandon. :lmao::lmao::lmao:

[Nermel9]

LOVE the "epic" exit sign. Perfect! Take that, Brandon. :lmao::lmao::lmao:

Haha, thank you! It is a pretty awesome picture, I'll have to tell Brandon that everyone else liked it! :rotfl: :cool1:

[PirateKate]

I was really hoping that it wouldn't be rainy when you went to see the Spectacle of Lights. It rained on us there one year and the rain mixing with the snow was very non-magical. The pictures turned out great though!

I'm glad you stuck it out on Soarin'. That line always seems to take forever, but it's always worth it. It's always been a dream of ours to ride Soarin' over and over until we were tired of it, but so far, either the line was prohibitive, or we had the boys with us. Maybe next trip!

[smile4stamps]

Caught up here now too!

I guess according to La Cava 11:30 is TOO early for a margarita!! I'm not a margarita fan... Tequila doesn't like me! Which is a bummer cause I think I would like a lot of the flavors!

I take way too many meds for headaches as well! I was once told I needed to stop taking Ibuprofen because they were causing rebound headaches!!

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I love your early morning Pop pictures! The pool looks like so much fun! :cool1:

Ugh - sorry to hear you got stuck in the Soarin' line. I feel like it takes forever to get through it, even when you have a FP. :confused3 Love the exit sign picture! :lmao:

Your blue margarita looks yummy! For as much as Miguel loves margaritas, I can't believe we've never tried one from La Cava. We always just do the little stand outside, which I'm not a huge fan of. I bet the La Cava ones are much better!

[nidasbourne]

Snowflakes are conglomerations of frozen ice crystals which fall through the Earth's atmosphere. They begin as snow crystals which develop when microscopic supercooled cloud droplets freeze. Snowflakes come in a variety of sizes and shapes.

[Nermel9]

I was really hoping that it wouldn't be rainy when you went to see the Spectacle of Lights. It rained on us there one year and the rain mixing with the snow was very non-magical. The pictures turned out great though!

I'm glad you stuck it out on Soarin'. That line always seems to take forever, but it's always worth it. It's always been a dream of ours to ride Soarin' over and over until we were tired of it, but so far, either the line was prohibitive, or we had the boys with us. Maybe next trip!

Thanks! Yeah, I was hoping for no rain too, but at least we had a decent 30 minutes or so that were pretty dry! I would have liked to spend a little more time at the lights, but...there's always next year! :laughing:

I would LOVE to ride Soarin' over and over! The line is never short enough for that, though! Tower of Terror, you can totally do that if the crowds are low enough, but Soarin'? Forget it! :laughing: It's such a great ride!!

Caught up here now too!

I guess according to La Cava 11:30 is TOO early for a margarita!! I'm not a margarita fan... Tequila doesn't like me! Which is a bummer cause I think I would like a lot of the flavors!

I take way too many meds for headaches as well! I was once told I needed to stop taking Ibuprofen because they were causing rebound headaches!!

Yay!

Haha, I guess so! :rotfl: I don't think I could ever drink straight tequila, I'd probably puke...in fact, I don't think I've ever even done a shot of it in my life! But margaritas are awesome! :cool1:

I've heard that about rebound headaches...so what are you supposed to do, just not take meds until you just don't get headaches anymore? :sad2: Weird.

I love your early morning Pop pictures! The pool looks like so much fun! :cool1:

Ugh - sorry to hear you got stuck in the Soarin' line. I feel like it takes forever to get through it, even when you have a FP. :confused3 Love the exit sign picture! :lmao:

Your blue margarita looks yummy! For as much as Miguel loves margaritas, I can't believe we've never tried one from La Cava. We always just do the little stand outside, which I'm not a huge fan of. I bet the La Cava ones are much better!

Thanks! The pool looked so nice, I'm sad we didn't go in it, but I'm sure we will someday!

The Soarin' line was awful that day! We just stood there, not moving! :sad2: They didn't even have those games on the wall on yet! At least that makes the wait fun!

I can't believe you have never had a La Cava margarita! :scared1: I've never had one from the stand, but I'm guessing those are made from some type of mix, and they are frozen, right? I don't really like frozen margaritas, I like them on the rocks, and that's how you get them at La Cava, and they are authentic! Please try one on your next trip, you will be thanking me for forcing you to go! :rolleyes1 :rotfl:

[Nermel9]

5 Minute Solo Trip!

Monday December 12

Hi guys! So there are only 2 and a half weeks left of February, and my goal is to finish this TR up by Feb. 29! So I'll probably update here a lot, and maybe my October TR once or twice, just so I can get this one finished so I can start my PTR for my May trip! I just need to talk about it, and there's only so much I can say to Brandon, he loses interest pretty quickly! :laughing:

We just left La Cava with our lovely margaritas, and were ready to circle the World Showcase. I was hoping to see more of the holiday storytellers, and yay, what do you know, there was one right outside of China!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010530.jpg

We stopped to listen, but...it was kind of boring. I feel bad saying that, but I was having a tough time paying attention. I thought before our trip that I would love these storytellers, but :confused3! I just wanted to move on!

We walked over to Germany, where we stopped to look at the little town with the train, and just like when it was decorated for the Food and Wine fest in October, it was decorated for the holidays! So cute!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010532.jpg

We then went over to Italy for a few minutes, just to see the decorations, but they were pretty minimal.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010537.jpg

Brandon just wanted to sit and rest for a minute and drink his margarita, so I tried to get a nice picture of him sitting at the table, but he just kept joking around, so all the pictures I got of him are ridiculous.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010542.jpg
:rotfl: Dork!


We started walking again and I noticed these people sitting along the fence...

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010543.jpg

They were waiting for the 5:00 showing of the Candlelight Processional! :scared1: It was maybe 12:30! Are they serious??? They're going to waste their whole entire Disney day sitting in line, just to see Neil Patrick Harris??? To each his own I guess, but wow, you want to see it that badly, just buy the dinner package!

As we approached Japan, Brandon mentioned how good the sushi was that he had at the new CS place, and wanted to get some again. I agreed, because I knew they had some kind of shrimp/noodle thing broth, and I thought maybe if ate some kind of soup, I'd feel a little better. So we went in, ordered our sushi and soup, and sat down to eat.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010545.jpg

Brandon enjoyed his sushi again, and my noodles and soup were really good! I only ate a few of the noodles though, I really just wanted the broth for my throat, which was starting to bother me again. I'm not even sure if I ate the shrimp, I think I just gave it to Brandon. I'd like to get that again when I'm not feeling so horrible so I could eat more of it!

Since we were in Japan, after we were finished eating, we of course, had to go in our new favorite store, Mitsukoshi. We went into the back where I saw these Lucky Cats:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010549.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010548.jpg

We thought they were so cute, and we could always use some luck! So I got a black one, which of course I got to protect me from illness, since I was sick, and I forget which one Brandon got, I want to say the white one? Of course, I'm sure he lost it by now!

We looked around a little more, and I fell in love with the cute little dishes and bowls they have there!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010550.jpg

We left Japan and kept on walking, right on over to France!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010564.jpg


I took a picture with Marie who was out and had no one waiting in line for her, but it is SO awful I'm not putting it up! I look so sick and terrible that I'm ashamed of myself for walking around Epcot looking like that that morning! Ever hear of make up, Jen? Ugh! :rotfl2:

We were about ready to go, but we had to make one stop on the way out...we had to use our Soarin' FP's, of course! The wait wasn't too bad, maybe 10 minutes, which was nice, but they stuck us in the 3rd row. I'm not a big fan of the 3rd row of Soarin', but still, it was awesome! How much do I love Soarin'?? :goodvibes AHHHHH!!!

We went back to Pop and rested and showered and all that fun stuff, and headed back out around 5:30. We had dinner at Pop, we both had the Chicken Penne Alfredo

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/IMG_1009.jpg

which was AWESOME!!! It was so good, I don't know what was so special about it, but I loved every single thing about that meal! The chicken especially, it was amazing!

For dessert, I finally got to have THIS:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/IMG_1010.jpg

Yep. And it was every bit as good as it looks in that picture. If I could have brought a whole cheesecake home with me, I would have!

Once we finished our delicious dinner, we hopped in the car and headed over to...the Magic Kingdom! :cool1:

Of course, what is going on when we enter the park? The Main Street Electrical parade!!

I remember whining to Brandon about it, saying something like "there is no escape from this parade! I think it's following us or something!" Seriously, that parade makes me feel like I'm going crazy! :rotfl:

We ran over to Tomorrowland to escape the parade and in a few minutes, we were free, our sanity had returned in the comfort of the neon lights of Tomorrowland, and of course, the amazing Tomorrowland area music! I was ready to do something, go on Space Mountain, maybe see how long the wait for Buzz was...

"Uh, I'm gonna go to the bathroom."

"Seriously? We just got here!! Fine, then I'm going on the Peoplemover."

Brandon looked shocked when I said that. I know I talk about solo trips all the time, and yes, I'd love to take one...but I have yet to go on a ride alone. Until now, that is.

"Without me? But I wanted to go on it too."

"Well, just wait at the bottom for me and we'll go on again."

Brandon agreed to wait for me after my first solo ride on a Disney attraction. It was seriously SO exciting walking up that ramp alone...being asked how many and answering "one!" I felt so brave...like such a grown up!

I had the best time on the Peoplemover!!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010574.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010578.jpg
Oops, I think I left the flash on for that one...


I wanted proof for myself that I went on the Peoplemover alone, so I tried to take a picture of myself with Tomorrowland behind me, and this is the best I could get:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010584.jpg
(Sigh. This picture makes me miss my long hair! I just chopped like, 8 inches off and it seems so short!)


My first solo ride ever came to and end, and I got off and went down the ramp. Brandon was there waiting for me.

"So how was it?"

"Fun, but it will be better with you."

So up the ramp we went, for my second ride on the Peoplemover! We had only been in MK for a short time so far, and already I was having the best time!

Up next...more MK!

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I love all of the fun things in Mitsukoshi! I hope the little lucky cat helped you feel better! :flower3:

Your tie-dye cheesecake looks awesome! I SO want to try a piece someday!

Good for you on your first solo ride! I've never been on a ride at Disney alone, I'd imagine I'd be just as excited! :laughing:

[Joyciemc]

Great update! I never thought about it, but I don't think I've been on a ride alone, either! I did go to the Frontierland Shootin Arcade once, though!

[marDgreen88]

THE MONKEY KING! Hahaha I tend to agree. In 2010 we listened to about 2 minutes of the Monkey King and then about 1 minute to the Canadian guy. This year the Canadian guy got about 30 seconds in passing. :laughing:

:rotfl: That picture of Brandon.

I would have LOVED to see NPH, but last year it worked out that we just walked up to see Jodi Benson and stood in the back. I would have done that again for NPH had I been there a few days earlier, but I would never waste my whole precious Disney day to have a seat.

Wow, your food at Pop Century all looks SO GOOD!

Aww, I'm glad you enjoyed your solo PeopleMover adventure. :)

[MEK]

I have had that chicken penne pasta before and it IS really good! That brings back memories of going on a mother/son trip with Nick before he became a teen. Sigh!

You hair really was long! Wow! Did you donate it? I'm proud of you for riding alone. poor Brandon!

Great afternoon in Epcot. That sushi looks really good! You are also off to a great evening in MK.

What Brandon doesn't like to talk Disney 24/7? Go figure! :rotfl:

[dara00]

that sign about the cats made me laugh. why would anyone choose yellow for good fortune in finance when gold gives you good luck in finance AND your dreams will come true! If those weren't super expensive, they look like fun to buy. Let's see, I think I would choose silver. I need lots of patience!

oops I took a flash picture on the space mt. part of the people mover too! I don't think I realized I wasn't supposed to. heh. it was just of my kids though!

[Simba22]

ok first, that pic of you on the TTA is so pretty! you look gorgeous in that picture and I don't care what you say! So pretty! And I totally know what you mean about the long hair! Mine has ALWAYS been long and several years ago I got it cut super short and I hated it (and by super short i mean a tad past my shoulders) and I am so paranoid about over cutting it now!

Yay for doing a solo ride! It's so funny how we talk so much trash about doing things without our men and then when the time comes we're like "that sucked without you" :laughing:

and OMG would you guys just FINISH those margaritas already?! :rotfl2: I would drink a gallon size margarita right now.... We opted to go to dinner tonight for V-Day since everything will be packed tomorrow and my stupid self defaults to Friendly's every time, but I so should have picked a restaurant with margaritas! :laughing:

[IheartDDuck]

Haha, look at you being all adult on going on your first ride by yourself! :thumbsup2

You are right though, it's always better being with someone.

[Merida]

OMG I'm jealous of your non-medicine taking ability! I have headaches all the time, and when I do, I just pop some Excedrin. My stomach hurts, I take Pepto. I have heartburn, I take Zantac. I'm afraid I'm killing my poor kidneys or my liver with all this medication! When I go a few days without taking Excedrin or Ibuprofen, I'm actually proud of myself! I wish I could just not take anything. I wish I didn't have headaches all the time, it sucks!

I love exploring resorts too! I've been to all of the deluxes except for SSR and OKW, so I really want an excuse to explore them! Oh, and BLT. But I'm pretty sure you can't get in there unless you're an actual DVC member, right? Although, there is that walkway that connects it to the CR...hmmm...

AoA does look plasticy, you're absolutely right! But I'd still stay there! :cool1: Pop is awesome, I hope it empties out a little so you can stay there! It's such a fun resort, it really makes you feel like you're in DISNEY, you know! Those giant icons are just so amazing!

You've never had a margarita??? I'd say go have one, but if you have made it this long without having one, just wait til your next Disney trip and have your first one at La Cava! They are the BEST ever! :worship:

A blue Long Island Iced Tea? That's so weird! I love the sweet tea vodka! I sometimes wish I drank more so I could drink these yummy things, but I seriously never freakin drink. I bought a tiny little bottle of toasted marshmallow vodka for new year's eve and it's still in my freezer. :sad2: :laughing:


Oh no! I'm sorry that you don't feel well so much; I kind of stopped taking medicine after having to take a lot of amoxicillin as a kid (it was pink! and bubblegum-y! Sooo good and nothing ever could compare). Also my grandmother would give us absolutely WRETCHED concoctions so we all kept quiet about being sick. And now that I'm living on a grad student budget, I always talk myself out of taking meds and just taking a nap instead. Cheap'n'easy! ;)

I think the bridge between CR and BLT has a locked door (I think it was in some picture?). I really want to go to SSR and see the treehouses! I actually really like the look of SSR because PONIES. OKW on the other hand.... :sad2:

Yup, it had blueberry syrup in it! Ugh, I have like three bottles of sweet tea vodka in the freezer right now AND a vanilla rum (and some other things hidden behind the Haagen Dazs, I think). We seriously look like alcoholics but it's really because we keep getting them as presents and we never get around to drinking them. Was toasted marshmallow any good? I can't see it working with any of my normal mixers.

Honestly, I didn't really like the Norwegian Storyteller either (the only one we saw). He was trying really hard to be cool and it didn't really work. Like, I looove these sorts of things normally and I wish that they were simply telling Norwegian myths or traditions instead of putting in unnecessary pop culture references.

Disney has some of the best train villages and I think it's really nice that they decorate them as well! Something about miniature things is so cute.. and totally more exciting than the storytellers. :lmao:

Mitsukoshi is the best store in Disney World. There's so many things to look at and it seems to go on forever. I always think we're in the last room and then - poof! - there's another one!

I have a secret love of the value cafeterias. I don't know what it is, maybe because my staying at the values tends to mean I'm spending long days at the parks and getting really hungry. I guess the food's probably really fresh since there's a lot of turnover? The Mickey waffles are definitely always tasty.

Yay for your first solo ride! And you got the one picture we were both dying to get (inside Space Mountain). That was SO COOL to go through. I feel like I notice more details and see more on a solo ride, but that's mostly because my boyfriend always tries to talk to me on rides. :rotfl:

[smile4stamps]

Yeah... They told me I had to go cold turkey on the Ibuprofen. I was given a prescription for migraines that got me through and now I am able to take Ibuprofen occasionally without a problem. It was a rough week getting off the Ibuprofen but in the end worth it as I have less headaches.... It also helped me to identify some of my triggers.... Not eating properly, not enough water, too much citrus, to much chocolate :(

[407-W-DISNEY]

Good for you for going solo on a ride! I have never had the courage...

You have such pretty hair...even short I'm sure its pretty! Did you donate it?
I donated about 13 inches of my hair in September....I'm liking the short hair - for the moment :rotfl2:

[Nermel9]

I love all of the fun things in Mitsukoshi! I hope the little lucky cat helped you feel better! :flower3:

Your tie-dye cheesecake looks awesome! I SO want to try a piece someday!

Good for you on your first solo ride! I've never been on a ride at Disney alone, I'd imagine I'd be just as excited! :laughing:

Every time I'm in Mitsukoshi, I see all sorts of new, fun things, I LOVE that store so much!

The cheesecake is SO good! I felt like I was eating play-doh that tasted like cheesecake, it was weird! I'd totally visit Pop just to get a piece of it! :cool1:

It was nice, going on a ride alone! I'm not sure if I will do it in May, since it is our anniversary trip, but if we end up going in the Fall, I'll try to do a few more things alone!

Great update! I never thought about it, but I don't think I've been on a ride alone, either! I did go to the Frontierland Shootin Arcade once, though!

Thanks! I always read in other TR's about people going on rides alone, even if they are with a group or significant other, so I thought I should give it a try! It was fun, I'd like to try something a little scarier than the Peoplemover next time! :banana:

THE MONKEY KING! Hahaha I tend to agree. In 2010 we listened to about 2 minutes of the Monkey King and then about 1 minute to the Canadian guy. This year the Canadian guy got about 30 seconds in passing. :laughing:

:rotfl: That picture of Brandon.

I would have LOVED to see NPH, but last year it worked out that we just walked up to see Jodi Benson and stood in the back. I would have done that again for NPH had I been there a few days earlier, but I would never waste my whole precious Disney day to have a seat.

Wow, your food at Pop Century all looks SO GOOD!

Aww, I'm glad you enjoyed your solo PeopleMover adventure. :)

That's his name, the Monkey King! I knew it had to do with monkeys! :laughing: I like the concept of the storytellers, but in person, I just get bored! Not mature enough, I guess! :rotfl2:

I would totally just stand in the back of the CP to see a narrator I liked, but to waste a whole Disney day is crazy to me! :scared1:

Pop's food court is so awesome, I'd love to have that chicken again!

The Peoplemover was so much fun alone! I loved just relaxing by myself for a few minutes, watching Tomorrowland go by! :lovestruc

I have had that chicken penne pasta before and it IS really good! That brings back memories of going on a mother/son trip with Nick before he became a teen. Sigh!

You hair really was long! Wow! Did you donate it? I'm proud of you for riding alone. poor Brandon!

Great afternoon in Epcot. That sushi looks really good! You are also off to a great evening in MK.

What Brandon doesn't like to talk Disney 24/7? Go figure! :rotfl:

Isn't it SO good! I've read about it on the DIS, but I didn't think it would be that great, and it really was!

My hair was so long! *Sniff!* I miss it, but it was getting out of control, no matter how much I brushed it, it would turn into a giant knot, so I had to chop it. No, I didn't donate it, I should have, but I only cut off 8 inches and I think you have to do 10. Next time I will because I'm definitely growing my hair out again! :thumbsup2

Epcot was fun that day, but we didn't really do much, we just wandered around WS! :confused3 MK, however, started out awesome!

Haha, uh, no, Brandon doesn't really like to talk about Disney at all. I asked him the other day if we could skip renting a car for our May trip, and he said he didn't care. Then a few days later, he said "yeah, we have to rent a car", just out of nowhere. That's the extent of Disney conversation I get with him! :rotfl:

that sign about the cats made me laugh. why would anyone choose yellow for good fortune in finance when gold gives you good luck in finance AND your dreams will come true! If those weren't super expensive, they look like fun to buy. Let's see, I think I would choose silver. I need lots of patience!

oops I took a flash picture on the space mt. part of the people mover too! I don't think I realized I wasn't supposed to. heh. it was just of my kids though!

Haha, that is so true, there are a few that kind of overlapped! I wanted the patience one too, I need some! :laughing: But my main concern is being healthy, so I thought that one was a good choice!

I'm sure people take flash pictures there all the time! I'll have to check the next time I'm on SM to see if I can see flashes going off! :rotfl2:

[Nermel9]

ok first, that pic of you on the TTA is so pretty! you look gorgeous in that picture and I don't care what you say! So pretty! And I totally know what you mean about the long hair! Mine has ALWAYS been long and several years ago I got it cut super short and I hated it (and by super short i mean a tad past my shoulders) and I am so paranoid about over cutting it now!

Yay for doing a solo ride! It's so funny how we talk so much trash about doing things without our men and then when the time comes we're like "that sucked without you" :laughing:

and OMG would you guys just FINISH those margaritas already?! :rotfl2: I would drink a gallon size margarita right now.... We opted to go to dinner tonight for V-Day since everything will be packed tomorrow and my stupid self defaults to Friendly's every time, but I so should have picked a restaurant with margaritas! :laughing:

Awww, thank you! :goodvibes I've thought about making that picture my FB profile pic, do you think I should? I just like it because it's so obviously on the Peoplemover!

OMG my hair is about 2 inches past my shoulders now and it seems SO short to me! :eek: And I always get layers, and it's barely layered, and I hate my stupid bangs, so I'm growing them out, so it's basically just hanging there right now, just being all boring and short! I can't wait til my bangs are chin length, because I'm going to get a ton of layers and angles in the front! I hardly even straighten my hair right now! I just want it to be long again!

Haha, my solo ride was fun, but at the end, I was looking forward to going on with Brandon again!

Yeah, we took forever drinking those margaritas, I usually suck mine down pretty fast, but it was hurting my throat that day, so I was sipping. :sad2:

Haha, look at you being all adult on going on your first ride by yourself! :thumbsup2

You are right though, it's always better being with someone.

Haha, I know right? It was pretty fun going by myself, but it is much more fun going with Brandon, especially on a ride like the Peoplemover, where you can sit and chat! :)

Oh no! I'm sorry that you don't feel well so much; I kind of stopped taking medicine after having to take a lot of amoxicillin as a kid (it was pink! and bubblegum-y! Sooo good and nothing ever could compare). Also my grandmother would give us absolutely WRETCHED concoctions so we all kept quiet about being sick. And now that I'm living on a grad student budget, I always talk myself out of taking meds and just taking a nap instead. Cheap'n'easy! ;)

Haha, well, that's a good reason not to take medication anymore! I can sometimes take a nap and get rid of a headache, but if I'm at work, forget it, I have to take something or I won't make it through the day! I'm trying ween myself off of my dependency, though! I've been only taking pain medication for really bad headaches, if they aren't so bad, I try to just chug water and hope it will go away!


I think the bridge between CR and BLT has a locked door (I think it was in some picture?). I really want to go to SSR and see the treehouses! I actually really like the look of SSR because PONIES. OKW on the other hand.... :sad2:

I want to see those treehouses too, they look so cool! I'm not sure I'd want to stay in one, though, maybe the ones that aren't near the water, but the ones that are like, right near the river that the boats from POR go down to get to DTD creep me out, they seem like they are in the middle of the bayou or something, I bet they are so scary at night! :scared1:


Yup, it had blueberry syrup in it! Ugh, I have like three bottles of sweet tea vodka in the freezer right now AND a vanilla rum (and some other things hidden behind the Haagen Dazs, I think). We seriously look like alcoholics but it's really because we keep getting them as presents and we never get around to drinking them. Was toasted marshmallow any good? I can't see it working with any of my normal mixers.

OMG I have so much alcohol still left over from my wedding, so we look like alcoholics too! :laughing: I just don't know what to do with it! I mean, you don't drink something like Frangelico on a daily basis! The marshmallow vodka is SO good, it doesn't need to be mixed with anything, just ice. It tastes like candy! Maybe I'll get around to drinking it this weekend!


Honestly, I didn't really like the Norwegian Storyteller either (the only one we saw). He was trying really hard to be cool and it didn't really work. Like, I looove these sorts of things normally and I wish that they were simply telling Norwegian myths or traditions instead of putting in unnecessary pop culture references.

I'm sad that I didn't like the storytellers, I thought I'd love them, but they're just kind of boring. It would be much better if they just stuck to myths and traditions, but then I'm guessing other people wouldn't be interested! Oh well, more time to wander around Epcot!


Disney has some of the best train villages and I think it's really nice that they decorate them as well! Something about miniature things is so cute.. and totally more exciting than the storytellers. :lmao:

Mitsukoshi is the best store in Disney World. There's so many things to look at and it seems to go on forever. I always think we're in the last room and then - poof! - there's another one!

I love Mitsukoshi SO much! I want to do Pick a Pearl SO badly someday, but I'm so nervous about it, I hate being the center of attention, and if there was a huge crowd, I'd have some anxiety attack or something! I love that there are so many cool things to look at in that store!


I have a secret love of the value cafeterias. I don't know what it is, maybe because my staying at the values tends to mean I'm spending long days at the parks and getting really hungry. I guess the food's probably really fresh since there's a lot of turnover? The Mickey waffles are definitely always tasty.

I love the food courts at Disney! I think it's weird that some of the deluxes don't have them, like BWI and the Yacht Club. I mean, eating in restaurants is nice, but sometimes you just want to grab something and eat, and not wait around all day! I really love the croissant breakfast sandwiches they have at the food courts, they're so good!


Yay for your first solo ride! And you got the one picture we were both dying to get (inside Space Mountain). That was SO COOL to go through. I feel like I notice more details and see more on a solo ride, but that's mostly because my boyfriend always tries to talk to me on rides. :rotfl:

I can't believe I got that picture, it turned out awesome, but I feel bad that I used my flash! I did feel I got to really relax and just enjoy the ride without Brandon, since there was no talking, but at the end, I was missing it! I'll definitely be trying it again on future trips!



Yeah... They told me I had to go cold turkey on the Ibuprofen. I was given a prescription for migraines that got me through and now I am able to take Ibuprofen occasionally without a problem. It was a rough week getting off the Ibuprofen but in the end worth it as I have less headaches.... It also helped me to identify some of my triggers.... Not eating properly, not enough water, too much citrus, to much chocolate :(

That's crazy! What kind of tests did you have to go through to get a prescription for migraines? An MRI? I feel like I could totally use a prescription, but I'm so afraid of all the testing they might have to do! :eek:

Good for you for going solo on a ride! I have never had the courage...

You have such pretty hair...even short I'm sure its pretty! Did you donate it?
I donated about 13 inches of my hair in September....I'm liking the short hair - for the moment :rotfl2:

Thanks, I've never had the courage either until this trip...I was so nervous walking up the ramp, I almost said forget it, but I just kept going!

Aww, thank you! :) I should have just cut 2 more inches off and donated it, but I didn't because I wanted my hair to still be past my shoulders. If it gets that long again, and I chop it all off, I will definitely donate it next time!

[smile4stamps]

That's crazy! What kind of tests did you have to go through to get a prescription for migraines? An MRI? I feel like I could totally use a prescription, but I'm so afraid of all the testing they might have to do! :eek:

I didn't have to go through any tests :confused3 I just had to tell my doctor I was having these really bad headaches that were light sensitive and made me nauseous and I think they are migraines and they gave me a prescription. The first prescription didn't work for me as you have to take it at the first sign of a migraine and I get a lot of mine while I am sleeping of all things. The second worked much better but I haven't taken it in a long time. Since I am no longer getting the rebound headaches I usually pop one excedrin migraine and 2 advil, take a nap and when I wake up its gone. If I can't take a nap I do the same pills with a fully caffinated soda and it usually works as well.

[amazingact21]

I have never about going on a ride solo, but I bet the Peoplemover was relaxing by yourself. Gave you some time to just soak up Magic Kingdom and reflect about the amazingness of being at WDW. :thumbsup2


That chicken alfredo dinner at the resorts is so good! I always end up eating it once while I'm there. And the tye dye cheesecake is Alex's favorite dessert at Disney! :confused3 I'd buy the whole cake, too, if I could. :rotfl:

[Nermel9]

I didn't have to go through any tests :confused3 I just had to tell my doctor I was having these really bad headaches that were light sensitive and made me nauseous and I think they are migraines and they gave me a prescription. The first prescription didn't work for me as you have to take it at the first sign of a migraine and I get a lot of mine while I am sleeping of all things. The second worked much better but I haven't taken it in a long time. Since I am no longer getting the rebound headaches I usually pop one excedrin migraine and 2 advil, take a nap and when I wake up its gone. If I can't take a nap I do the same pills with a fully caffinated soda and it usually works as well.

Hmmm, maybe I will mention my migraines to my doctor then. I never did because I was always afraid they would make me get all these tests and that scares me, so I've just been suffering with migraines for years! I get migraines when I'm sleeping too once in a while. I also get them when it's really hot out, or if I don't drink enough water, or just from nothing. It's so annoying. :sad1: And I'm sure I get rebound headaches because I can go a few weeks without getting a headache, but then when I get one, I'll have one for like a week, and I just keep taking Excedrin or Advil over and over. I'd give anything not to have to rely on pain medication anymore, it's so bad for you!

I have never about going on a ride solo, but I bet the Peoplemover was relaxing by yourself. Gave you some time to just soak up Magic Kingdom and reflect about the amazingness of being at WDW. :thumbsup2

That chicken alfredo dinner at the resorts is so good! I always end up eating it once while I'm there. And the tye dye cheesecake is Alex's favorite dessert at Disney! :confused3 I'd buy the whole cake, too, if I could. :rotfl:

The Peoplemover was so much fun alone, it was so relaxing, just watching Tomorrowland go by! :woohoo:

I love the chicken alfredo! I felt like I was eating a giant chicken nugget mixed with penne and alfredo sauce, it's so good! And the cheesecake is so good, and so pretty too, I made sure i got a piece with a lot of purple! :rotfl:

[Mrs T 2009]

That tie-dye cheesecake looks soo yummy!!!

I always kid my hubby telling him I'll just go to Disney for a weekend ( i have a friend who lives down there and works for disney) and he just laughs, but i am always serious when I say it :D LOL

That soup and sushi looked delicious!!! and I hope the lucky cat helped you feel better! :)

[KatMark]

Great update, Jen.

How cool you rode your first ride alone. I did that in 2010 when Mark had his neck surgery; I did Dinosaur by myself and it was fine. However, a solo trip is not something I want to do.

I love how Brandon is posing.

[Nermel9]

Oh no, not again!!

Monday 12/12

Our night at MK started out perfectly-2 rides on the Peoplemover, one alone and one with Brandon! While I was on my second ride though, I noticed the Magic, Memories and You show starting, and I really wanted to see it, because I read that they added a little Christmas part to the show, and well, we were on the Peoplemover, so we missed it! I was annoyed that my timing was so terrible, however, I got over it, but I could not miss Wishes!

As soon as we got off the Peoplemover, we went over to the hub and stood right in front of the castle to watch Wishes. We were so close to the castle, I figured it would be an awesome place to watch!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010590.jpg

It turns out, being so close isn't really a good thing, because you can't see all of the fireworks. I mean, of course Wishes was great, but I'd rather be back by Main Street. Here are a few of my favorite pictures:


http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010602.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010604.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010611.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010622.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010630.jpg

I wasn't getting very good pictures that night, so I just started playing around with my camera, zooming in and out and everything. That's why some of them are super close, and some of them are blurry and crazy looking!

When Wishes is over and they put the Dream Lights back on on Cinderella Castle, the Castle is white for a few minutes, with the lights on. It looks AMAZING. I mean, it is beautiful when it's purple or blue, but when it's white and lit up, it really looks like it's covered in ice, it is so pretty! I tried to get a picture before the castle was colored again, but I wasn't fast enough, so it's already starting to look pink a little, but you can almost get the idea:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010636.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010637.jpg

Pretty, right? :lovestruc

Once Wishes was over, I made Brandon hang out in front of the castle so I could take a million pictures of it with the lights on, at different angles. He was ok for a few minutes, but then started getting impatient. Then I started getting aggravated because NONE of my pictures were coming out good. I don't know what I was doing differently this year, but I just could not get good pictures of the castle lit up, the pinkish/purple color of the castle was just not getting picked up in my pictures! Most of my pictures ended up looking like this:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010651.jpg

And I was not happy.

"I don't get it, it's not blue in real life!"

"Dude, don't worry about it. You have a billion good pictures of it at home from the past 2 years, remember?"

"I know, but I just don't get it. This camera is so much better than my Canon and it's not doing what I want it to do!"

I gave up, because I knew Brandon was bored and wanted to do something, so we moved on. We walked by the castle into Fantasyland, and he wanted to do Philharmagic, so I agreed, although I was nervous if I sat down, I might fall asleep!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010665.jpg

I don't know why, but I was getting so tired, and it wasn't even that late, my eyes were having such a hard time staying open! But I was glad we did Philharmagic, because it is pure awesomeness, and even if you're tired, you can't help but be happy you are watching it!

When we left, we went towards Liberty Square, and Brandon noticed we were passing Columbia Harbor House.

"I'm hungry, what do they have here?"

"Are you serious? We ate here in 2008, don't you remember?"

Sometimes I forget that not everyone is a DIS'er. Especially my husband. Who basically doesn't remember any Disney restaurant unless it's Le Cellier or his new obsession, Cape May. Or 'Ohana, because he can't stand it.

After I apologized for my snotty answer, he looked at the menu and decided he wanted to eat there. I was getting more and more tired, so I just walked around for a few minutes while he ordered. It's so cute inside, it reminds me a little of the Union Oyster House in Boston, which is one of our favorite restaurants in the world!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010666.jpg

We found a table and sat down so Brandon could eat. He got a lobster roll

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010668.jpg

and he said the CM he ordered from was from Massachusetts. He said he told the CM that he was also from Mass. (he grew up there, then moved to CT when he was 11, if you guys are wondering!) and asked if the lobster roll was a real, New England lobster roll. The CM said it's ok, but it's definitely not what we're used to up here, and he told Brandon he might be disappointed. That was nice that he told him the truth and just didn't tell him what he wanted to hear, I appreciate that when you ask CM's questions!

Obviously, Brandon ordered it anyway, and didn't like it. I don't know what he was expecting. He was warned. We're in the middle of Florida, not Maine.

We left CHH and didn't know where to go, so we started walking towards Fronteirland.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010673.jpg

I loved the Christmas decorations over here, they were so simple, but I really liked the lights they used! We went on the wooden path by the water to get over to the Splash/BTMRR area, and Brandon wanted to stop for a second to look for alligators.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010676.jpg

Nope, no alligators! And how creepy does that shed look at night, with no one else around? :eek:

We went to see how long the wait at BTMRR was, and it wasn't bad, so we got in line. I was wondering if it was a good idea to ride, since I was getting a little headache, but I figured it was fine.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010678.jpg

It actually wasn't fine. I got thrown around so much on that ride, my head was pounding when we got off, and it turned into a full blown migraine. I started to feel nauseous and everything.

"Oh no, not again"

"What?"

"I have a migraine now. What if it doesn't go away and it ruins tomorrow?"

I was so nervous I was going to have a repeat of the first day of our October trip the next day, where I had such a bad migraine it basically ruined my whole night. I got so upset about it, that I suggested we just leave, even though MK was open until 12 that night. Brandon was fine with leaving, because, well, he's fine with going back to the room and going to sleep at any point in the day pretty much!

I started to drag myself through Adventureland, and remembered that the Swiss Family Treehouse was open again when we walked by. I asked Brandon if he minded going through it really quick, and he didn't, so we went through!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010680.jpg

It was not fun climbing all those stairs with a pounding migraine, but luckily no one was behind us, so we could stop and take our time and look at everything.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010688.jpg

Look! You can see Tomorrowland from Adventureland!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010684.jpg

I know the Treehouse isn't very popular, but I really like it, it's fun to explore and check out all those rooms, it would be so cool to really live there! If I was ever going to hide out in MK for a night, that's where I'd stay. Well, unless I could break into the castle suite.

Finally, we made our way to Main Street and were ready to go.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010693.jpg

Now that we were really leaving, I didn't want to of course, so I had to take my time and soak in all the Christmas decorations. We only had one day left of our trip, and this was our last night at MK so I really wanted to be immersed in Christmas those last few minutes!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010697.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010699.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/Nermel9/Disney%20December%202011/Day%203/P1010700.jpg

I was eventually ready to walk out of MK, and go back to the car. Having a headache actually helped motivate me to leave, because if I didn't, I probably would have just sat down in Town Square and not moved until it was midnight. It's so hard leaving MK when you know it's the last time you will be there on your trip, especially during Christmas season!

The monorail was closed for some reason, so we had to take the ferry back to the TTC, and it took forever! It just seemed like it was going so much slower than normal, and then we had to wait for a tram to get back to the car. I was so exhausted, and my head hurt so bad, I just wanted to get back to Pop and crawl into bed.

As soon as we got there, I popped some NyQuil and went to bed, hoping the next day would be better! I was hoping to wake up headache free and to have one rain free day on this trip! Oh, and if my cold wanted to clear up, that would be nice too! :laughing:

Up next...lots and lots of Epcot!

[IheartDDuck]

Oh my goodness, don't you have it when you have something that is better than what you had prior, and it doesn't work the way the other thing did! I totally get what you mean about the camera. I've had that happen before! It's part of the reason that I just use my phone now.

I'm sorry that your migraine returned. I can't stand it when that happens. But, I think you did the right thing. Rather than getting yourself worked up about it, just turn in and do what's best for your body.