CHRISTMAS VACATION (The Trip, Not the Movie): 12/19 - We're back, TR link on p. 25

[Angrypenguin]

LOL... I guess I have too much time on my hands ! Actually, we have a family trip coming up in September so as it gets closer, I'll probably spend more and more time on the DIS. There's so much info on this website and I've met a lot of really great people on here that make it a fun community to be a part of.

I checked out your smugmug, you have excellent shots!

Okay, we'll stop hijacking annewjerz's thread . Feel free to hijack my journal tho

BTW Anne, I'm incredibly jealous you get to go during Christmas. You're going to get some crazy and wonderful shots.

 

[Todd_H]

I checked out your smugmug, you have excellent shots!

Okay, we'll stop hijacking annewjerz's thread . Feel free to hijack my journal tho

Thanks, Kevin! I'll definitely check out your journal when I have a little time (I noticed it was 25+ pages, so it must be good). Congrats on your wedding, btw .

Sorry for the thread hijack, Anne!

 

[jpmom97]

I only read the first page of your report but it sounds like you will have a great time! I will be overlapping you by a few days, we are going the 4th-15th. You will have the best time w/ your mom!! I wish I had taken more trips w/ my mom.

 

[annnewjerz]

Thanks, Kevin! I'll definitely check out your journal when I have a little time (I noticed it was 25+ pages, so it must be good). Congrats on your wedding, btw .

Sorry for the thread hijack, Anne!

Meh, the off-topic conversations keep me bumped up so I don't have to post mindless crap just to keep it towards the top of the heap---so feel free to chat away!!

Eventually, when I get some readers---maybe we should restrict the OT conversations---wouldn't want to upset anyone who may eventually be enjoying my PTR. For now though, I don't think my two* followers will mind

*One of the two being myself.

 

[exwdwcm]

Enjoying your report!!! what a great deal for your room too! We will be there at the same time, as you know. Do you have all your meals planned out? I am dying for Dec hours to come out so we can finish planning. rihgt now we are basing our plan on 2008 Dec hours. I have a great spreadsheet I could send you if interested for planning!!

 

[exwdwcm]

Since you are a December expert, I might as well ask you----is it warm enough to wear flip flops in December? I have read varying reports online and I know weather can be hit or miss....but in your experience, they are something I should pack at least one pair of---right???

The one time we went in early Dec a few years back- it was nice during the day, we wore shorts, t-shirts and flip flops (or tennis shoes). then brought a hoodie/sweatshirt in case. at night, we wore capris or jeans if it was chilly. the night of our MVMCP, it was so cold we wore gloves and hats, but that was only one day out of the trip it was chilly like that. I'll be bringing one pair of tennis shoes and some good flops- i have speedo ones i love! i might try crocs, i think they are ugly, but everyone raves how comfy they are and DS loves his.

We're doing a tour for the first time on this trip too! We'll be doing Keys to the Kingdom. I wanted to do Backstage Magic, but that really takes up your entire day, and DH and I will be doing it after our parents go back home. I didn't want to take up a whole entire park day that we have to ourselves for a tour! KTTK fit the bill of what we're looking for, so we're doing that one instead. I'm excited!

I just did the KTTK tour 2 weeks ago before the DIS podcast cruise. We did the 8:30am tour on a Saturday. James was our guide and he was fantastic. I have also read that Meghan is great. This was our chance to do the tour, as we had no kiddos with us on this trip. We only spent one day at MK before heading on the cruise. We got to the MK at like 7:45am an checked in at 8:15, got some good empty MK pics! The tour was long, lots of walking and very hot. My mom was in a wheelchair. We started with the walking tour of Main st, and heard some great stories and history. Then we proceeded to an area in Adventureland, just before you get to Aloha Aisle, there is some covered seating that is always empty- we sat there for probably an hour, listening to the history of Walt. There were some great stories I had not read or heard before, even as a former cast member, so that was great. We then rode the Jungle Cruise and continued towards Frontierland where we were taken backstage for a bit- saw Spectro floats and afternoon parade floats and more. It was great fun. Then we continued back through Frontierland to lunch at Columbia Harbor House upstairs. After lunch, we rode Haunted Mansion, then headed down into the utilidors and more backstage areas. We finished up I think about 1pm. We were tired and hot, but it was well worth it. And you receive a special surprise too. I am really glad i did the tour- at almost 5 hours, it was long, but very interesting. Plus we had a funny guide that kept us laughing the entire time. We all thought it was well worth the price and our time. You guys will love it!!!

 

[annnewjerz]

The one time we went in early Dec a few years back- it was nice during the day, we wore shorts, t-shirts and flip flops (or tennis shoes). then brought a hoodie/sweatshirt in case. at night, we wore capris or jeans if it was chilly. the night of our MVMCP, it was so cold we wore gloves and hats, but that was only one day out of the trip it was chilly like that. I'll be bringing one pair of tennis shoes and some good flops- i have speedo ones i love! i might try crocs, i think they are ugly, but everyone raves how comfy they are and DS loves his.




I just did the KTTK tour 2 weeks ago before the DIS podcast cruise. We did the 8:30am tour on a Saturday. James was our guide and he was fantastic. I have also read that Meghan is great. This was our chance to do the tour, as we had no kiddos with us on this trip. We only spent one day at MK before heading on the cruise. We got to the MK at like 7:45am an checked in at 8:15, got some good empty MK pics! The tour was long, lots of walking and very hot. My mom was in a wheelchair. We started with the walking tour of Main st, and heard some great stories and history. Then we proceeded to an area in Adventureland, just before you get to Aloha Aisle, there is some covered seating that is always empty- we sat there for probably an hour, listening to the history of Walt. There were some great stories I had not read or heard before, even as a former cast member, so that was great. We then rode the Jungle Cruise and continued towards Frontierland where we were taken backstage for a bit- saw Spectro floats and afternoon parade floats and more. It was great fun. Then we continued back through Frontierland to lunch at Columbia Harbor House upstairs. After lunch, we rode Haunted Mansion, then headed down into the utilidors and more backstage areas. We finished up I think about 1pm. We were tired and hot, but it was well worth it. And you receive a special surprise too. I am really glad i did the tour- at almost 5 hours, it was long, but very interesting. Plus we had a funny guide that kept us laughing the entire time. We all thought it was well worth the price and our time. You guys will love it!!!

1. Thank you so much for reading. I haven't updated this thing in quite a while now---I'm just trying to hold off as long as possible so I don't finish up a PTR months before the actual trip!!

2. I'm so glad to hear the positive review of the KTTK. It seems like everyone thinks that it is worth the time and money and I was extremely nervous about taking 5 whole hours on our last day away from my favorite park---but we've decided to do it and I'm really happy with the decision. Now I just have to wait until 90 days out so I can book the thing already!!

 

[annnewjerz]

Enjoying your report!!! what a great deal for your room too! We will be there at the same time, as you know. Do you have all your meals planned out? I am dying for Dec hours to come out so we can finish planning. rihgt now we are basing our plan on 2008 Dec hours. I have a great spreadsheet I could send you if interested for planning!!

I am totally there with you on the planning front. I have the hours (including which days are EMH, etc.) from 2008 all written down and book-marked online. I have a rough itinerary made (that's a lie---it's actually a full itinerary down to the minute if all goes as planned and the hours are the same this year, but I'm calling it "rough" just so I can allow myself more changes!) and which park each day, along with a plan "A" and plan "B" for restaurants.

Haven't decided on the meal plan yet, I'm going to wait to see if I can get my ADRs and if I can, we'll do the meal plan. If I can't get the ressies, we'll just do what we want, fly by the seat of our pants and pay OOP.

More than likely, I'll be spending countless hours planning every detail of the trip and once we arrive, I'll throw it all out the window, but the planning is half the fun leading up to the trip!

Please do send me the spreadsheet, I love spreadsheets, passporters, binders, websites, programs----basically anything I can use to obsessively plan some more.

 

[annnewjerz]

Since deciding that we would be returning to The World this year, I have been spending far too much time on the DIS and have come up with a "To Eat" and "To Drink" list for our December trip. This list does not include actual restaurants or food items from said restaurants, more just a compilation of snacks and drinks (mostly of the alcoholic sort) that I would like to try while we are there.

To Eat:*Just a warning that all of it is complete junk food. I'll be splitting with DH but c'mon give me a break---I'm on vacation!!

- Dole Whip / I've never tried one. A sin really, I know.
- Chocolate PB cake from Boardwalk Bakery / After reading Carrie's (lurkyloo) amazing trip reports and realizing our shared love for the chocolate & peanut butter flavor combination, I decided that this cake is a must. Apparently they sell it by the slice at the BWB and since we just so happen to be staying at the Boardwalk Villas, it will probably be had everyday for breakfast. What diet??
- Strawberry shortcake from Sunshine Seasons
- Chocolate chip cookie icecream sandwich from DinoBites in AK / This thing looks HUGE and amazing.
- Chocolate covered Mickey rice krispy treat, the big ones / Nuff said.

To Drink:*Just a warning that drinking at home is a rarity for me---so if in my TR I appear in any photos (which is doubtful because I take them) I apologize for looking like a mess.

- Grey goose slushie from France
- Lapu Lapu at the Polynesian
- Yak Attack in Animal Kingdom
- Sangria from Morrocco
- Margarita from Mexico
- Scotch flight from the Rose & Crown Pub (for DH)

Thank goodness WDW is one of the places where I don't have to worry about gaining weight. When you're walking 10+ miles a day, it's nice to be able to eat whatever you want and not stress out over it---but makes it so hard to get back into your daily routine at home. Oh well, a small price to pay I'd guess!

 

[exwdwcm]

Since deciding that we would be returning to The World this year, I have been spending far too much time on the DIS and have come up with a "To Eat" and "To Drink" list for our December trip. This list does not include actual restaurants or food items from said restaurants, more just a compilation of snacks and drinks (mostly of the alcoholic sort) that I would like to try while we are there.

To Eat:*Just a warning that all of it is complete junk food. I'll be splitting with DH but c'mon give me a break---I'm on vacation!!

- Dole Whip / I've never tried one. A sin really, I know.
- Chocolate PB cake from Boardwalk Bakery / After reading Carrie's (lurkyloo) amazing trip reports and realizing our shared love for the chocolate & peanut butter flavor combination, I decided that this cake is a must. Apparently they sell it by the slice at the BWB and since we just so happen to be staying at the Boardwalk Villas, it will probably be had everyday for breakfast. What diet??
- Strawberry shortcake from Sunshine Seasons
- Chocolate chip cookie icecream sandwich from DinoBites in AK / This thing looks HUGE and amazing.
- Chocolate covered Mickey rice krispy treat, the big ones / Nuff said.

To Drink:*Just a warning that drinking at home is a rarity for me---so if in my TR I appear in any photos (which is doubtful because I take them) I apologize for looking like a mess.

- Grey goose slushie from France
- Lapu Lapu at the Polynesian
- Yak Attack in Animal Kingdom
- Sangria from Morrocco
- Margarita from Mexico
- Scotch flight from the Rose & Crown Pub (for DH)

Thank goodness WDW is one of the places where I don't have to worry about gaining weight. When you're walking 10+ miles a day, it's nice to be able to eat whatever you want and not stress out over it---but makes it so hard to get back into your daily routine at home. Oh well, a small price to pay I'd guess!

i think i gained 10 lbs reading this! lol

what is the yak attack? that is a new one to me. the others sound fabulous. the pina colava at the Poly is great too. They have them at the AKL as well. and we are also looking forward to the grey goose slushie on our drink around the night.

 

[annnewjerz]

i think i gained 10 lbs reading this! lol

what is the yak attack? that is a new one to me. the others sound fabulous. the pina colava at the Poly is great too. They have them at the AKL as well. and we are also looking forward to the grey goose slushie on our drink around the night.

If you gained 10 pounds reading it---I can only imagine how much I gained researching/writing it! Something tells me we won't get through all of the things on my list. My "musts" would be the PB cake, Dole Whip and Mickey Head Krispy Treat and the Grey Goose Slush. If I missed the rest, meh---I'm sure they'll still be there on another trip!

The Yak Attack is at Yak & Yeti in AK. To be honest, it's been so long since I wrote my list that I have no clue what's even in this drink---but when I read about it on the restaurant board it sounded fruity and yummy!! I literally decided this year to stop drinking since I don't enjoy it that much (hate the taste of alcohol and always get SO tired when I have even one drink) and since I'm probably going to have my first drink in a year, the drinks will definitely be split as well. If I had to do them on my own, I may end up conking out on one non-stop trip round and round on the monorail.

LASTLY, the Pina Colava, is that a black/dark purple drink? I had seen in the "Alcoholic Beverages" thread on the Restaurant board a picture of something that was very dark and I swore this was the name of it. If so---what's it taste like? Not licorice I hope!

 

[DWGal210]

Hi there again! Your eat and drink list looks WONDERFUL - I am also wanting to get the Grand Marnier Slushie this trip - after being in the parks during that Christmas / New Years week, I might need a little drinky-poo to get me through!

Hope you have a great weekend! Looking forward to more!

 

[annnewjerz]

Hi there again! Your eat and drink list looks WONDERFUL - I am also wanting to get the Grand Marnier Slushie this trip - after being in the parks during that Christmas / New Years week, I might need a little drinky-poo to get me through!

Hope you have a great weekend! Looking forward to more!

Wait wait wait...hold the phone. Grand Marnier Slushie?! How did I not hear about these?! I need to know where I can get one and add that to my list.

Good luck with your trip over Christmas/New Years. I would love to go during this time, but since we only go once every few years and our jobs don't really restrict when we can take vacation---I decided that less crowded would probably be better. But I can't imagine too much better than waking up on Christmas morning in Disney. So fun!

 

[exwdwcm]

LASTLY, the Pina Colava, is that a black/dark purple drink? I had seen in the "Alcoholic Beverages" thread on the Restaurant board a picture of something that was very dark and I swore this was the name of it. If so---what's it taste like? Not licorice I hope!

the Pina Colava is just a pina colada with raspberry puree blended in - so pineapple tasting with berries too. yum!

the grand Marnier slush is also at France I believe? that is something we want to try as well.

I am not a huge drinker either. I don't like the taste of alcohol, bartenders look at me funny when i say to make it 'weak'. I prefer the fruity frozen drinks or a beer. anything too strong (or shots), forget it!

 

[minniecarousel]

Just found ya!

We'll be there Dec. 7 - 16, to celebrate our older DS's 30th birthday. We'll be at SSR for 4 nights, them BWV for 5 nights. DS & DDIL are moving at the end of this month, so we'll really start to plan once they have that behind them. I have a half-hearted PTR here somewhere.

I've never been at the holidays, and can't wait!

I love reading all your plans - keep 'em coming!

 

[annnewjerz]

the Pina Colava is just a pina colada with raspberry puree blended in - so pineapple tasting with berries too. yum!

Mmmmmm. Sounds really good.

We'll be there Dec. 7 - 16, to celebrate our older DS's 30th birthday. We'll be at SSR for 4 nights, them BWV for 5 nights.

See ya at the BWV I'll have to check out your PTR. Half-hearted for now is okay since we're still 6 months out from our trips...but once it gets closer, I expect it to be updated!!

I've got another PTR for October here.

 

[annnewjerz]

So I have some pretty major news to update this with (at least major to me anyway).

The other night, DH and I were talking about our anniversary which is in October and what we would do for it. My DM had previously agreed to watch our two big dumb dogs for 2-3 nights if we were ever interested in going away for a weekend, so we decided to take her up on it.

Now...where were we going to go? We wanted to drive somewhere and keep the trip extremely cheap. It would be a combination anniversary/birthday trip since we already have basically our dream trip planned for December.

So, where can we drive to? Niagara Falls?? Been there. PA Grand Canyon?? Men, that's a little boring. Baltimore's Inner Harbor?? Nice, but would be better in the warm weather.

After all this thinking, I came up with the most brilliant idea and since I am posting this on a Disney board, I'm sure you can guess where I'm going with this.

For our anniversary---we'll be headed to DISNEY WORLD!

Basically, we are going to be completely nuts and drive down in a day from NJ, go to MNSSHP and then drive back the next day.

If you want to read more about it (which I hope you do) here is the link to my new/brief PTR!

I would really love it if people read/commented. It's just a litttttttttle boring typing this whole thing just for my own benefit.

 

[annnewjerz]

For anyone that may have gotten the impression that I'm above bribing people to read my PTR, you are wrong.

In order to entice people out of possible lurkdom, I have decided to post some pictures. People like pictures on PTRs, right? These don't necessarily have anything to do with my trip in December---but they can be loosely related because they are pictures of our tree/ornaments/etc. from last Christmas.

I don't know if I mentioned in the beginning of the PTR, but I love Christmas. It's my all-time favorite time of the year. Between the decorations on the houses, the shopping, the hustle and bustle in the stores, decorating the tree, baking cookies---I love it all.

For those of you that may have been reading and asking yourself "so---I wonder what Ann's Christmas tree looked like last year?", I have decided to post some pictures.

I collect Waterford ornaments. They're so pretty and just really put me in the holiday spirit when I get to unwrap them each year. For anyone who thinks they look pretty---take a look at your local Marshall's or TJ Maxx if you'd like to buy some (around Christmas). They have them for $5, $10, $15 each, etc. rather than the $40 you may pay at MACY's. GREAT DEAL.

One of my faves.

Right now I have about 50 Waterford ornaments and I've only been collecting them for 3 Christmas seasons Let's not tell DH exactly how much I have spent. That'll be our little secret, okay?

I also collect Steinbach ornaments. For all of you Disney lovers---you may have been these ornaments in the Christmas shop in Germany in Epcot. They are in little white boxes and are hand crafted. They're wooden and remind me of the vintage ornaments I would see hanging on my Grandparents' tree. Right now I only have about 10 or so because a lot are weird designs like bumble bees and...

sheep?

Weird, I know.

Lastly, I always get an ornament from every vacation we take (or I try to). Disney is no exception. Last trip in 07 I purchased a set of little chubby versions of the Fab 5 like this one.

This year, I'm going to try to get a personalized Christmas ball. From what I understand, around Christmas you need to give them at least a few days to get those done---so the plan is to order them on our first day (Dec. 12) while we are in DTD for Cirque du Soleil and get them delivered for our departure on Dec. 18.

Here is a picture of our finished tree last year. To give you an idea of how big it was, that big red ball ornament right in the front is about the size of a person's head. The tree touched the living room ceiling and took up a whole corner of the living room with the back half of the tree trimmed down.

I decorate it with lights, red wooden beads that look like cranberries, all of my ornaments and then top the whole thing off with red Yankee candle tree candles (the kind that are a wick that's dipped to make two hanging candles)

like these (borrowed from the internet)

and tin icicles since we can't use tinsle because of the cats.

So without further delay, here is our tree.

 

[annnewjerz]

Bueller.........


.............................................................


Bueller.........


..............................................................



Guess my bribe didn't work!!

That's alright, at least I'm keeping myself amused.

 

[MinnieNurse]

Just found your report and read through the entire thing.

I love that you have invited your Mom, I think it will be great for her since she has not had a vacation in quite some time and then the loss of your Dad.

Our last trip was in December and was my absolute favorite. For me it was shorts and flip flops the entire trip. It was always in the 80's.

Speaking of flip flops I have an obsession and now I think I will have to purchase some more from your posts.

I love Christmas also. I have 3 tree's at this time. DH is is a Fireman so I have a firefighter tree, a sports tree for DS, and then my tree is a Disney tree. I love buying a (or 3 or 4) new ornaments for my tree at WDW every year. I love to shop in the Christmas store in March or June. This year I will get to do it in August.

Cant wait to read more.