Holiday Dreams Do Come True with Pooh-Pooh Too! Family of 14 at WL (COMPLETED 3/23)

[exwdwcm]

Thanks for sharing your pics of Podcast cruise (I recognize quite a few Disers!) I was hoping to go on the December '10 cruise but decided to spend the bucks on a family vacation at WDW instead. I think I signed up for the Podcast community but that was it. I have listened to a few podcasts and really enjoyed them. I will break out of my shy shell and make some new friends (I hope). It's been pretty lonely being a widow for 15 yrs now (my hubby died of a heart attack in 1994 on our first visit to Florida at Christmas time and sadly he never got to see WDW) and I've been busy raising 5 kids so am so greatful for the Disboards to meet new people who share the love of Disney

ah, hugs to you on the loss of your husband. I am sure he looks down over you and enjoys watching you and yours enjoy WDW!

and wow on 5 kids, what a handful, you must be really proud!

Sometimes a family vacation takes precedence. I didn't do all the podcast group events I wanted to do this trip because my family came first. But it is definitely fun participating a little bit, even if it is only online.

 

[ladybugmom]

not a stupid question at all- many folks don't know what a podcast is. it is like a radio show (some daily, some weekly etc.) that you can listen to on your computer or download to your ipod or other media to listen to later.

if you go here:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-podcast/
You can click the 'listen now' button on the left (down near hte center) of the page. It will bring up your media player and you can listen to the show. Or you can download it to your itunes account and then upload it to your ipod if you prefer to listen while taking a walk or something. I always just listened on my computer and plugged my headphones into that (as not to disturb others). If you have speakers on your computer, you can listen that way. They have a weekly discussion show and sometimes also an email show where folks can email in questions and they answer them on the show for you. It is always fun and interesting. There are other podcasts for disney out there too on other websites as well. I only have time to barely listen to this one, but I hear there are other great ones too. They will discuss all the newest things, changes in disney mgmt, new movies, new attractions, restaurant reviews etc. Folks call and email in with great tips too. They are not live, but pre-recorded usually the day before so they can edit as necessary for a streamlined show.

as for another disapalooza next year, i assume they will have one again. The first real official party was in 2008, but I know they have had other meets before then too in 2007 and maybe even 06. There is also the DIS unplugged message board much like this one- it is where a lot of the folks that listen to the show post about the show or other things. It has become a tight knit group, but don't be afraid to go over there, they don't bite! They also hosted the first ever DIS UNPLUGGED Cruise this past May on the Disney Wonder. Dreams Unlimited offered special packages and the cruise was filled with fans of the show as well as the hosts themselves that we listen to each week. They held a live taping (with audience) of hte podcast on the ship, had a welcome reception, party on castaway cay, private presentation by Disney Institute and more. Lots of special events, including a wine tasting, martini tasting and other get togethers. it was a lot of fun and I got to meet some of my 'online' friends in person. They are now planning another DIS unplugged cruise (2.0) for December 10-14, 2010. I am not sure if they will do disapalooza due to the cruise- and if they do, it might be at a different time, I just don't know. We will have to wait for details. you can check the dis unplugged forum often for any updates throughout the year. I also recommend booking with Dreams if you are not DVC- they have always provided great service to us. Booking with them also usually guarantees you placement in any special events they will be hosting during your stay.
here are the boards:
http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=158

Oh wow!! Thank you!! You are a wealth of information!! I will definitely have to check this out!!!

 

[exwdwcm]

I was able to get some photos from other family members- so here are some from our first few days that i didn't include originally. enjoy!

Dumbo, of course!!!

Dumbo on our first day- first ride! Weeeeeeee!!!!

Coral Reef Lunch at Epcot

Seeing Lightning at the HS before the Toy Story party!

Crystal Palace breakfast, Pooh's favorite character- Pooh!!!

Princess and Pooh playing in the spraying tiki area near Jungle Cruise!

Riding Living with the Land with Auntie.

The merry go round with the whole family

Having fun in the Imagination pavilion

My old roomie Heather and I at her work place- Journey into IMagination

in our car at Sci Fi Dine Inn

posing with the green army men at the Toy Story Mania party

 

[praisehisname]

So cool that you got to meet up with your former roomie!

We love Coral Reef; I'm glad you liked it, too!

We were at DHS the same day you were there, and it wasn't crowded during the day, but wow it got crazy crowded that evening! Thanks for the pics of the TSM party. We were supposed to go, but ended up having to miss. The food sounds great!

 

[khertz]

The party looks SO fun!! What a great way to experience TSM, without the crazy, ruthless crowds. It looks like it was a fun & productive day for y'all.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

I love the pictures!!

 

[exwdwcm]

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13TH- DAY 4


Well now it was day 4, our time was already almost halfway over! We were in WDW for officially 9 full days. It was 10 nights, but we arrive late (10pm) and left early on our last day (10:30am flight), so those two days didn’t count. So 9 it was.

Today’s plan was to meet in the lobby and head to the Magic Kingdom. We took the boat today, a quick, direct ride over to the MK. It was very nice and not long at all.

We had breakfast scheduled for Crystal Palace, a favorite of ours and a tradition. I can’t remember a trip where we did NOT do this meal. We also had plans to hit the HS again tonight for EMH until 11pm and dinner at the 50s Prime Time, another favorite. Unfortunately it did not remain on our favorite list for long! Stay tuned for the story!

So it is a Sunday and while we were prepared for potentially chilly weather, it had suddenly gotten warmer. So the weather was really nice and warm! No need for those hoodies or jeans today. Alan, Pooh and I wanted to get to MK around opening at 9am to try and ride a few things before our 10:15am breakfast. As we came in, we did stop for the ‘button man’. Right under the train station, he was giving out buttons for whatever you were celebrating. We got Pooh a first visit button. Auntie got a ‘just married’ button. My parents got something to, don’t remember what- family reunion or something? So that was fun.

Auntie and Mama getting buttons

We also took a few pics of Main Street and the décor. After that we headed to Space Mtn to get a FP, but the wait was so small, less than 10 minutes, that we just got right on. This was my first time riding the ‘new’ renovated Space Mtn. As you know, it was closed for like 9 months or so for rehab. Not sure what they did, since I didn’t notice any major changes, at least not any that made the ride any ‘better’ in my opinion. I haven’t ridden the DL Space Mtn, but I hear it is light years better than the WDW version. Anyhow, we did notice the new queue line video game and did play a bit of it. That was fun, but nothing I could see taking as long as the rehab did. They did change the inside queue too where you can no longer see the coaster while waiting in line. It is like they added a ‘ceiling’ there where you really can’t see much. Not a big fan of that either. The track seemed the same to me and was a lot of fun as always. They did update the ‘mannequins’ you see working in the ‘control room’ just a bit, but they still look very 70s to me. The seats you could tell were new and much softer with padding for your bottom and back. I did like that. But again, I didn’t really see what required like 9 months of work. Of course we all assume behind the scenes stuff doesn’t take much work when it might. Who knows. I still love Space Mtn., but just don’t understand the rehab. We had a great ride and Auntie stayed out with Pooh for us. It was Mama, Papa, Alan, me, Nene and Jeff. Wowo’s family must have been somewhere else and I think Nancy and Chase might have slept in some.
Nene and Jeff in line for Space.

Mama is so funny, we joke how she always scream a certain curse word on these ‘thrill’ rides. It rhymes with bit. So we heard her scream and laughed our heads off. I screamed some myself! I think Nene and Jeff rode in the very front. Good times!

After that, I think it was already time to head to breakfast, so we went that way. We stopped for a few photopass pics near the restaurant, but I’ll have to add those later, we haven’t ordered the CD yet.

We all took a bathroom break and got settled in to wait for our names to be called. Soon enough, all 14 of us were heading to our table. We were sat on the left side of the restaurant near the front window. All 14 of us fit in a row nicely.

This is one of our favorite breakfasts and we were looking forward to it. I went and grabbed Pooh a plate first- Mickey waffle, eggs, fruit etc. He loved the eggs, bacon and strawberries. He ate really good at this meal and was really behaved! I enjoyed the cheesy potatos, grits, eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy and more! We ate well here!

Our first character visit was from Eeyore- Nene’s favorite. We all got at our autograph books and cameras.

Next up was Tigger. Pooh is familiar with Tigger of course, so he enjoyed that!

After Tigger, came his favorite, Pooh! He seemed in awe that the ‘real’ Pooh was standing next to him. Remember, this is the kid that has 3 plush pooh bears back in the hotel room. So he had a ball with that.

[/COLOR][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial][COLOR=#000000]We saw Piglet too, but not sure we got pics with him, he was slow to make his way over. We also got to do the little ‘dance’ around the room with the characters and I took Pooh on it. We marched around with our napkins waving and had a ball. Before you know it, we are all done and ready to go. I think by now it was like nearing 11:30-11:45. We decided to hit up a few rides before heading out for our daily ‘break’. [/COLOR][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial][COLOR=#000000]The kids stopped to play in the tiki fountains for a bit in adventureland. Pooh loved this.
[img]http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a0df31b3127ccef9412839faa700000040O08RbtHLVi1B7efCQ/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

I know for sure that we did Splash Mountain- this was our first ride on it this trip. It is one of my favorites! So we had the kiddos to switch off. The line wasn’t too long- only like 15 minutes. So we got some fastpasses but then some of the group went ahead and rode first. I think Mike, Alan and I sat out to watch the kids while everyone else rode. The nice thing is SM has a little playground for the kiddos, so we let them play there while waiting. They had a ball. It was funny though watching, there were these two twin boys, probably 3yo and one just was a bully. He kept pushing other kids etc., especially this one cute little girl. I have no idea where the parents were, but I wanted to step in and tell him to cut it out! So Mama, Papa, Auntie, Wowo, Nene and Jeff all rode I think. Nancy and Chase I think may have split up at this point to do their own thing- I can’t quite remember. So after the first ride, we did the child swap and so this time Alan and I went to ride.

Auntie volunteered to stay out with Pooh for us and Wowo would watch Mikey. Princess actually decided she wanted to try riding SM!! Princess tends to be a bit scared about rides, so this was a big deal! So we grabbed her and went. That left Auntie, Pooh, Wowo and Mikey at the playground. Princess decided to ride with Nene, which was really cute. She was scared a bit, but had a ball I think! So much so, that she wanted to ride again! So we came back out and apparently Pooh had given Auntie a little scare. He is very quick on his feet and must have wandered off the playground before she could catch him. She thought she had lost him. I know it really scared her badly, but they did find him before we got back. She didn’t make a big deal about it and neither did we. We had ID bracelet on his wrist with our phone # in case something like that happened. Pooh is known to try and wander off, which is why he rode in the stroller a LOT! So we didn’t think much of it, he was here now and safe. But apparently, poor Auntie was really really upset about it, but we didn’t know that. She kept it all inside as to not scare us I guess. I had no idea she was so upset, or I would have made sure she knew it was okay. We were not upset with her, it could happen to anyone. I think it really threw her for a loop. Wowo who was sitting out with her when this happened said she was pretty scared. We just didn’t know until after the fact. This would possibly come to play out later in a big change in our trip and cast.

So Princess wanted to go on SM again, so guess what, we did. We used our FP, they actually weren’t ready yet- we had like 10 more minutes to go or so I think. Usually the CM’s are pretty strict at the big rides about checking your FP time and not letting you in early. But this CM didn’t care. He looked and still let us in early! Awesome! I’ve never had that happen before. So this time Alan sat out with Pooh and I think Mama and a few others sat out with Mikey. So I think it was Wowo, Princess, Me, Nene, Jeff and Papa riding. Princess wanted to ride with me, but I knew Wowo really wanted to ride with her. It was sort of a big deal, for Princess to ride this and I knew Wowo wanted to share that special moment with her daughter. So I told Princess no, she should ride with her mommy. Wowo said it was okay though, so Princess rode next to me. She held on tight in a few parts, but overall, did great! So we almost all rode SM 2x and some rode it 3x. The line was pretty minimal at first but by the time we used the FP the line was like 30 minutes I think. It was a warm day too, so I imagine the line continued to grow!

After our wet adventures with Brer Rabbit, we headed around towards Adventureland to check out pirates, which I think was another first for us this trip. This is a favorite of my parents. We had a nice ride with little wait! This was the first time for everyone to see the new updated ride with Capt Jack! Love it! Then we checked out the store and Mama/Papa bought all the kids something. I think Pooh got the pirate mini lego set! We also checked out the Arriba bros glass cart right there and bought Mama a Minnie glass ornament for her tree. By now it was nearing 2pm and Pooh was getting tired. So Alan, Pooh, me and Auntie all headed out. I think everyone else stayed and did Haunted Mansion or a few other rides. But we had done a lot- tackled two of the mountains, plus Pirates and a great breakfast.

and so back to the room it was......break time. here are some good shots of the lovely Wilderness Lodge!

 

[exwdwcm]

So cool that you got to meet up with your former roomie!

We love Coral Reef; I'm glad you liked it, too!

We were at DHS the same day you were there, and it wasn't crowded during the day, but wow it got crazy crowded that evening! Thanks for the pics of the TSM party. We were supposed to go, but ended up having to miss. The food sounds great!

Yes, it was a welcome surprise! we will definitely do it again. yes, it did get crazy crowded that night for sure, i guess because of the TSM party, you had all those extra folks there and it was a fantasmic night and of course locals in to see the lights. so sorry you missed it!

The party looks SO fun!! What a great way to experience TSM, without the crazy, ruthless crowds. It looks like it was a fun & productive day for y'all.

yes, it was super fun. i only wish we had ridden more than twice. and that i would have taken more pics!

I love the pictures!!

thanks Bethany!!!!

 

[ladybugmom]

What a nice day!! I just love Crystal Palace--it's a favorite of ours, too!!

 

[praisehisname]

Not sure what they did, since I didn’t notice any major changes, at least not any that made the ride any ‘better’ in my opinion.

I didn't either, but I did like the photo that they take now.

You left MK without getting a Dole Whip? And you were right there near the stand, too!

 

[exwdwcm]

What a nice day!! I just love Crystal Palace--it's a favorite of ours, too!!

gotta love it! have you ever tried the lunch or dinner? we haven't ventured out to try those yet.

I didn't either, but I did like the photo that they take now.

You left MK without getting a Dole Whip? And you were right there near the stand, too!

yep, no dole whip today. but we did fit one in on our very last night. i should have gotten one much earlier in the trip though.

 

[ladybugmom]

gotta love it! have you ever tried the lunch or dinner? we haven't ventured out to try those yet.

Yes!! We did the CP dinner last May (6:30 p.m.) and it was the BEST buffet dinner we had!! It was sooo good!!! Lots of choices and the characters were great!! We also had a great view of the castle from our table--sooo pretty!! We have another 6:30 ressie this May!!

 

[exwdwcm]

The rest of day four will be posted later today- stay tuned!

Also finally got our photopass pics done. We ordered our CD back in June though for $85 (with a visa discount) and our promotion code no longer is working on the site, so I have to wait for PP customer support before I can officially order the CD. But I should have those PP pics soon to post too!

 

[exwdwcm]

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13TH- DAY 4 CONTINUED

We left off with us having a great morning at MK and heading back to the hotel for a break.

We enjoyed the nice boat ride back to the Wilderness Lodge. There was quite a wait for this one this time though. We got unloaded and headed up to the room.

But instead of taking a break right away, we decided to let Pooh swim a little. It was a beautiful day to do it. Who knew when the weather could change and be chilly? You never know in December. So we got changed, filled up our refillable mugs and headed down to the pool. They were doing activities for the kids by the pool, including some trivia games and drawing on the concrete with chalk. It all sounded like fun, but Pooh wasn’t quite the right age for it just yet. So we headed near the kiddie pool area and found a chair to set out stuff in. We actually brought the stroller too. Our room was such a long walk from the lobby that the stroller was a must! Pooh really enjoyed splashing around. We also went in the main big pool, but it was chilly- the water was so cold! Almost unbearable. we did watch the geyser go off too

Pooh is in swim lessons and has been since 6 months old. I am in the pool with him for his class every Saturday am. So he is very comfortable in the water, splashing and going under completely. He can swim underwater for a slow count of ten. But he wasn’t interested in doing that today in the big pool. Maybe it was too cold. He just wanted to splash around in the kiddie pool which was fine. Alan got in the hot tub for a bit. I never got to try out the hot tub unfortunately.

We spent a good 45 minutes or so at the pool, when we got a call from my old WDWCP roomie, Heather. She had said she wanted to come visit us at the hotel and bring some ‘treats’. Heather likes to bake and cook! So she came and met us back at the pool area and we decided it was time to go in and dry off. She is too funny though- Alan works out a lot and is a ‘built’ guy. He was shirtless at the pool of course and Heather came up and grabbed his bicep and said ‘nice work’ or “oh lala” something to that extent. Lol- she is so so funny! Unfortunately she went through a breakup with her boyfriend of like 3 years this past year. Poor thing, she is such a GREAT catch, so hopefully Prince Charming will come along soon for her. So we packed up and actually headed into the lobby near the fireplace. Heather went out to her car to grab our treats. It was a plate full of homemade cupcakes with Christmas icing and décor! How fun. Leave it to Heather. So we sat and chatted by the fireplace for awhile, which was a lot of fun in those rocking chairs. Finally we headed up to the room with Heather in tow. She wanted to see our room and perhaps the rest of the family. We got upstairs and found Wowo and her family, minus Mike, in their room. Since we had ‘adjoining’ rooms, we opened up the door between ours so Heather could say hi. My mom came over as well to say hi. We all chatted for a good while, but finally needed to put Pooh down for a nap. So we said our tearful good byes to Heather. Until next time I visit Florida- bye old friend!!

So now it was time to put Pooh down for a nap, no easy task after all that excitement today! Mike, Jeff and Papa had actually split off from the group earlier to head off site and catch the Dallas Cowboys game. They played at 4:15 orlando time. They ended up at the TGI Friday’s in the shopping center across from the entrance to the hotel blvd/DTD area. It’s funny, back in my college program days, that TGI Friday’s was a weekly hangout. I think it was on Thursdays, they had free wings and cheap beer specials. So all the ‘of age’ college program kids came over there to drink and hang out. Those were the days. In case you don’t know, the college program apartments are really close to Disney- they are on 535, on the other side of I-4 from Disney. You can see the apartments from the highway- they are right next to the Wendy’s, WalGreen’s etc. right there on the right side of 535, so we were always super close to everything near Disney!

So while the guys enjoyed the game, we enjoyed some rest time. Our plan for the evening was to head to the Hollywood Studios again and we had 7:25pm reservations for 50s Prime Time. I don’t think we headed out until nearly 5:30 or 6pm. The guys were going to just meet us at dinner. So we headed to the cars and drove over to HS. Tonight was extra magic hour until 11pm, so we anticipated some crowds. Besides dinner, our priority was to do the Osborne Lights. It would be a second time for us, but a first for everyone else that missed them the night before.

GO ROMO!!!!!



By the time we arrived, parked and walked in, we didn’t have much time to do a lot. Nancy and Chase had ridden over with us, so we headed to Tower of Terror. It was a Fantasmic night tonight too, so it was somewhat crowded. The line for TOT was not that long though, i guess everyone was at Fantasmic. They had a 6:30 and 8pm show that night. Chase doesn't do TOT, so he watched Will in the stroller for us while Alan, Nancy and I rode. The line was only like 15 minutes and moved quickly. We enjoyed a great ride and just when I thought it was over, we were up dropping again. I love this ride, one of my favorites. The theming is just amazing and the details can't be beat. After our ride to the Twilight Zone, we exited to try and find Chase, he was standing near the brick wall across from the ride area a bit down. We got all situated and ready to head to dinner, when boom, the mad exodus happened.....everyone was leaving the Fantasmic theatre and we could barely move. Wow, it was a LOT of people! So we rushed through the crowd to get over to the 50s Prime Time for our 7;25pm dinner ressie. Even Pooh-Pooh enjoyed a ride.

So we all headed into dinner and were seated pretty fast actually. They did manage to sit all 14 of us together! It was a large booth area sort of pushed together. Our server was Aunt Memory. She was pretty good and into the ‘act’ that is part of the draw of this eatery. If you just want to enjoy a nice quiet meal, then don’t come here! Part of the fun is participating in the ‘50s family’ and with your server.

So we got seated and drinks ordered. Tonight we had some adult beverages. I can’t remember what the drink was, but it was strong!! I don’t do strong drinks! It did have a glo cube in it though- fun! The guys had joined us now too at dinner. Our ‘cousins’ sitting across from us were getting in trouble for not eating their vegetables! Aunt Memory was very fun- she had us get our elbows off the table and asked Chase what color the soap was when he went to the bathroom to ensure he washed his hands. She also made us set the table. When she got our drinks, she said she had to go to ‘Dad’s liquor cabinet’ to get them made. Alan got into the fun and asked how Uncle Bob was doing these days and how he heard he was in prison. Aunt Memory jumped in with a hesitation and said ‘yes, he is in prison for knocking over that liquor store’ or something to that effect. Too funny. Unfortunately this was not a good meal for me. The service sort of went downhill from there. While Aunt Memory was a lot of fun, she was so slow! Plus, Pooh was acting up. Not sure if he was tired or what, but he was so restless and not wanting to sit still in the booth.

We had all ordered and I had:
Mom's Old Fashioned Pot Roast - Slow cooked 'til fork tender, served with mashed potatoes, carrots, celery and onions $16.99
Alan had:
Aunt Liz's Golden Fried Chicken - Served with mashed potatoes, chicken gravy, and Southern greens $14.99

We just got pasta or something for Pooh which he ate very little of. My pot roast was just okay. A little dry and not as tender as I like. It was okay, but not fabulous. I didn’t actually get to eat much of it as Pooh was simply acting up too much. We tried switching off, giving him to Mama, but no go. Finally, he was being so bad, I had to simply leave the restaurant with him. It was really frustrating as this was one of my favorite places typically, especially for the s’mores for dessert. Alan did enjoy his fried chicken and finished almost all of it. The portions here can be huge, so be prepared! I know Nancy had the meatloaf and completely cleaned her plate!

One funny thing during the meal was Princess- she is so sweet and takes things to heart. So when Aunt Memory came and ‘yelled’ at us for having elbows on the table, well, Princess got upset. She thought we were all in real trouble. WE tried to explain it was just for fun and a ‘game’, but she was scared and upset. Poor thing. It was kind of funny though at the same time.

So I know Jeff got in trouble for something, I can’t remember what, but he was forced to stand up in front of everyone and repeat something like 5x. “I will not do…….whatever it was”. Too funny.

Towards the end, Princess finally got the hang of it and realized it was all in good fun and she started trying to tattle on everyone. LOL. I missed a good portion of the meal, being outside with Pooh. I came back and he was slightly better, but not much. I got to order and scarf down some of my s’mores before having to leave for good with him. So out to the stroller we went. I let him run back and forth near the little lake and walk up and down on the steps there. He was just content as could be doing that. He just hates to be confined.

So the food was just okay I thought this time. And our service was just so slow. It took her forever to bring our ‘adult drinks’ over. Then forever to order desserts. She would just disappear for a while. We finally asked another server for stuff and to track her down. I wasn’t there for the bills, but apparently that was a huge debacle! They waited a solid 20 minutes to even get the checks and when they did, she had done them all wrong and charge Jeff to our room and extra drinks or something. It was all messed up. So fixing it took about another 20 minutes. The meal in total lasted 2 hours! Ugh. This is why I became very sick and tired of the sit down meals. Add in the restless 2 yo to that scenario and it is not fun. So everyone was pretty frustrated and annoyed by now. The free dining plan, while free, was starting to become a thorn in my side!

So Pooh and I met everyone else outside. Jeff and Alan were the last to leave with the whole messed up checks thing. After that, we headed over to the Osborne Lights. It was now 9:30 or slightly after. The lights were not too crowded, but more crowded than last night.

Pooh once again loved the snow! We didn’t stay in the lights too long since we had seen them once already and Pooh was trying to ‘escape’! So we headed out the back way towards the Studio Catering Co. We ran into the large coke bottle that squirts water and Pooh enjoyed that for a bit. We were sort of at a loss of what to do now. We passed by TSM, but the wait of coruse was like 60 minutes with the park closing in about an hour. We knew RnR and ToT probably were not a good idea. Backlot tour was closed (and something I’d skip anyhow). So we hit up the great movie ride. I actually do like this ride, I think for more sentimental value and because I love a lot of those old movies. Is it cheesy? Sure. Are the movie clips at the end cheesy and outdated? Yeah. But I still love it. The line however was posted at like 25 minutes. I hate waiting for anything more than 20, but we decided to go ahead and do it. So we waited. Considering the wait, Pooh was fairly good. He was heavy though. No strollers in here and he did not want to walk. Once we got into the theatre section, we only saw the movie previews cycle through twice I think before we were in the front row about to get to board. That is when it happened……..a gush of water onto the floor. Alan whispers to me- “I think Pooh just peed on me”. Oh great, here we are, waited in line almost 30 minutes and finally it is our turn to board and we have a leaky or overly wet diaper incident. I was so embarrassed, but don’t think anyone saw. I let the CM know about the ‘spill’ on the floor, since it was enough to be an issue later. And Alan and I just decided to go ahead the ride. Alan’s shirt was wet as were Pooh’s pants. But the trusty backpack had some supplies. Once we were seated in our car, I pulled out an extra diaper and t-shirt for Alan to put on his leg for Pooh to sit on in his lap. Pooh kid just had to sit in his own pee until we were done. I felt bad, but he has done it before. I am just glad it was not me that got peed on! Lol

So we enjoyed our ride through the movies. We had the gangster side. Pooh loved the Wizard of Oz with the munchkins! After the ride, we headed directly to the bathroom. Surprisingly, Pooh’s diaper was not overly wet. In fact it wasn’t wet at all. So we must have just had a diaper malfunction where it wasn’t on good or right and so the pee just came right out the side of the diaper as Alan was holding him.

With freshly diapered Pooh in hand, it was now approaching 11pm. There wasn’t really time to do much else. So we stopped and shopped a bit on the way out. I was able to purchase a few things for Christmas for Pooh and some of his cousins. I did not get to go into all the stores I wanted, but oh well. We just went in the keystone clothiers and the main shop on the left (as you enter). I usually love to visit the Villains store and the Sid Chaeunga’s store right by the entrance (great retro posters etc.). It wasn’t meant to be this time. So we exited with everyone else and headed back to the hotel, completely worn out and ready for a good night’s sleep!

So our 4th day came to a quiet end. We hadn’t accomplished much at all this evening, so we knew another trip to the Studios was in order later this trip.


SANTA’S NICE LIST
*Great breakfast, good food
*Pooh got to see Pooh-Pooh!
*Riding the updated Space Mtn
*Riding pirates and splash finally!
*low crowds and lines this am at MK
*seeing Osborne lights for a second time with minimal crowds
*s’mores!


SANTA’S NAUGHTY LIST
*Alan getting peed on!
*Space Mtn updates not as cool as I hoped
*SLOW service at 50s Prime Time
*not enough time at HS
*not getting to shop all I wanted at HS
*Pooh acting up at dinner and having to step out for most of the meal

DINING REVIEWS
CRYSTAL PALACE BREAKFAST- MK
So as mentioned, this is a tradition for us to eat breakfast here. As a buffet, we like the quickness with which we can be served! We do love the Pooh characters too and they usually make the rounds in pretty good time. The cheesy hash browns were so yummy! Pooh loved all the food and fresh fruit. Food was plentiful and hot. I never saw anything empty and considering we were having a late breakfast, that was nice. They could have already started just not refilling in preparation for lunch or something. But they kept the food coming. The service was pretty good too- we had a tag team of two ladies refilling our drinks. The checks were brought promptly and correctly. This was my favorite breakfast of the trip. I give is a 4.25 out of 5 mickey heads as far as breakfast goes!

50s PRIME TIME CAFÉ- HS
What usually is a good meal for us just didn’t cut it for me this time. We almost always eat here and it is next door to my old workplace, but I think next few trips, this will NOT be on the list. The menu isn’t as big as it used to be. Fewer selections. Portions are still fairly big, especially the fried chicken. We do enjoy the theming of the restaurant and Aunt Memory was great as far as the ‘fun’ department goes. But when it came to real service, well I felt she was a bit lacking there. She was very slow and another family that was sat after us (next to us) was gone a good 30 minutes before we even got our checks. My dessert of s’mores was still yummy as always. We were a bit crowded in our spot too. Drinks were very slow coming as were refills. Plus add in the fact I had a toddler acting up and the meal just became a nightmare for me. My pot roast wasn’t as good as I remember in the past. All in all, I would give our experience this time maybe a 2 out of 5 mickey heads, if that. That might be being generous. I know this isn’t designed to be a gourmet dining experience, but based on my past meals here, I just felt like the food quality and service wasn’t up to par. As mentioned, we will not be dining here again for a long while. Time to try some of the other places in HS.

 

[disneylovin24]

Great TR so far!!!

I can share in your pain about Chef Mickey's Last time we went there there wasn't much food at all and some things were either empty or cold. The best part was the desert bar but that was it!!!Only reason I would ever go back is for the characters, but I don't even see that happening anytime soon!

Glad to hear your family liked Trail's End. I honestly don't think the food is anything special. It's all good but the same you find at any buffet in disney. But, it's a family tradition to go there the first night of every trip for my family so I still love it!

 

[exwdwcm]

Great TR so far!!!

I can share in your pain about Chef Mickey's Last time we went there there wasn't much food at all and some things were either empty or cold. The best part was the desert bar but that was it!!!Only reason I would ever go back is for the characters, but I don't even see that happening anytime soon!

Glad to hear your family liked Trail's End. I honestly don't think the food is anything special. It's all good but the same you find at any buffet in disney. But, it's a family tradition to go there the first night of every trip for my family so I still love it!

Yeah, i wasn't that impressed, but then again, i am picky too. I think we might give breakfast a shot next time, it is hard to mess up breakfast.

We didn't try Trail's end personally, but like you said, breakfast is breakfast. so you have had the dinner over there, how is that? We almost always do hoop dee doo on the big family trips. we really love Ft Wilderness. I see you do too!

 

[Pollito916]

Oh no on the diaper accident! That has happened with Alex before too, but again, when DH was holding him!

We also had a similar experience at 50s PT. We waited nearly an hour for a table WITH an ADR, and Alex was not having sitting still either. Poor princess not getting it in the beginning, I'm glad she was able to get in on the fun by the end.

Love the pictures of the Osborne lights - they are just so beautiful!

 

[k_reile]

The rest of day four will be posted later today- stay tuned!

Also finally got our photopass pics done. We ordered our CD back in June though for $85 (with a visa discount) and our promotion code no longer is working on the site, so I have to wait for PP customer support before I can officially order the CD. But I should have those PP pics soon to post too!

how do you pre-order the cd? i have a disney visa too

 

[exwdwcm]

how do you pre-order the cd? i have a disney visa too

well they don't offer the great discount they used too and that 15% off for visa expired back in june 09 (why i ordered so early).

I think they upped the Cd price now to $149.95 (used to be $99.95). but there is a discount i see on the photopass page to save $15. JAN15CDT through January. So it would cost you like $135 now, not sure there is another VISA discount offered again or not. I haven't read about one since that one last summer unfortunately.

here is the link to photopass. http://www.disneyphotopass.com/photocd.aspx#photocdTop

Unfortunately with the raise in prices this year, not sure we will do it again or not. Alan hates having his picture taken anyhow. I love having them done and as Pooh gets older, i might want more pics! lol The only way we would do it again in the future is if we were doing a photopass share, where you 'share' the cost with other family members or people travelling at the same time as you (perhaps you start a group on the disboards). That is what we did for our one CD too. All 14 of us got our own photopass cards to use while at the parks, but once we returned, everyone gave their cards to me. I entered all the card #s, so all of our pictures appear under one account. So all of our pics will be on one CD and then I will burn copies for everyone. This way we are only paying for one Cd, but all 14 of us get the pics and the benefit of it. I've seen people on teh boards here that are 'friends' online and travel to the parks at the same time do a share----one person is 'in charge' of it and so you have to send them your card # and then once they get the CD, they make a copy for you (which could include all their pics too unless they take the time to sort out and only burn your pics). make sense?

http://www.disneyphotopass.com/photocd.aspx#photocdTop

oh and next time, i will also know to ask for more 'magic' shots, the photographers don't always offer these up. where you are 'holding tink' or at epcot there is even a soarin one, where it looks like the characters are 'soarin' above you. I even saw one at halloween time iwth the ghosts from the haunted mansion inserted. cool! And they now let you put your Test Track ride photo on your card/Cd too. I hear they will be starting that with Space Mtn and other rides soon too- that would make it more worth it to me. I never buy those ride photos, but they would be fun to have. I didn't know aobut the Test Track one until we got home and saw my sister had a TT photo on our account. There is a kiosk near the ride exit where you insert your photopass card where it 'scans' your number to match up your photo for your account.

 

[exwdwcm]

Oh no on the diaper accident! That has happened with Alex before too, but again, when DH was holding him!

We also had a similar experience at 50s PT. We waited nearly an hour for a table WITH an ADR, and Alex was not having sitting still either. Poor princess not getting it in the beginning, I'm glad she was able to get in on the fun by the end.

Love the pictures of the Osborne lights - they are just so beautiful!

lol, for once, Pooh had good timing on the 'diaper accident', usually it is on me. Alan took it in stride though, i mean, what are you going to do?

Yeah, i think 50s PT is off our list for a while. I did sneak in next door to see my old work too- 50s is connected to Hollywood and Vine- btw, i found a pic of me in my old costume. here it is- lovely! they still wear these and my program was 14 years ago!