A Very Lurkyloo Christmas is FINISHED! New 3/16: Last Day of the Trip!

[ladybugmom]

Hi Carrie!! I just found your TR and I'm so excited to read it as we're planning a December trip to WDW this year!! I can't wait to hear all about the Christmas festivities!! I'm also interested to hear about this D23 event as I'm now a charter member (thanks to the gift DH gave me for Christmas)!! Can't wait to read more about your trip!!

 

[figmentfan814]

Carrie, I'm really late in getting started on your report so I wanted to start by saying I'm so sorry to hear about your dad. DH lost his dad near the holidays 2 years ago and I understand how hard it can be for a family.

I'm glad you have your report to help take your mind off things. Your pictures so far are great! I was not good at following along with all your pre-trip plans, did you just get a room at Boardwalk and not rent DVC? The rooms look fantastic! How cool that you were able to be an official guest at a DP.

It was great to meet you at Disapalooza after all this time! I'll be sure to add in a few pics when you get to that part in your report

 

[DWGal210]

Another great TR, Carrie! I just love reading yours, the explanations are just perfect!

I was very interested to read your review of Kouzzina...I also heard the podcast report about it and wondered how they were doing. We were just in WDW last week, and one morning I caught an ABC interview with Cat Cora, where she was cooking at the restaurant. I wondered if that was part of getting more PR about the restaurant and if people were not going or not liking it.

Can't wait to read more!

 

[Donald'sGirl]

Carrie I am FINALLy all caught up. I am so very sorry for the loss of your dad. I can't imagine losing a parent. I am so glad Jensey was there with you to help you through that night. What a great friend she is.

I can't believe Patrick had to leave early of your trip. Granted it was for an awesome thing but still that stinks.

Anyway for starting your TR! Now for report review:

Love the redesign of the BW - I have to try it someday!!

Somehow I am not shocked about Kouzzina's. DH and I were contemplating it and ruled it out in favor of Flying Fish and now I am glad we did.

Patricks pics of the fireworks are fantastic! We went to a DP on the 9th and the holiday ending of Illuminations had me in tears and goosebumps. It was truly wonderful!

Danger Frog!

Cannot wait to read more!

 

[HilsNPaul]

After a lengthy absence from the DIS to finish graduate school, I am caught up on your trippie! Few! What a read

I am so sorry to hear about your dad. The loss of a parent is really tough. I'll keep your family in my thoughts.

Boardwalk looks amazing! I love everything about it. It looks so classy!

I'm sad to hear about Kouzzina! I had really high hopes for it. I never liked Spoodles and thought this would be an improvement.

I love the little tree frogs that cling to windows and doors in Florida. They bring back fond memories of my grandparents (they live in florida).

Can't wait for your next installment.

 

[MyMuse]

I'm here! Whew!

I'm so sorry about your dad.

So nice meeting you at D23. I also ditched the CP Illuminations viewing area (I went before D23 event) and stayed by Morroco. A most excellent spot!


Looking fwd to rest of your TR.

 

[annnewjerz]

Uh oh---how did I miss the start of this TR?!

I'm here now. Great start, the rooms at the Boardwalk Inn look sooooo nice, hope you enjoyed your time there---looking at your "view" at night made me feel nostalgic.

Sorry we didn't end up bumping into eachother over a piece of PB Chocolate cake (although it is delicious!) or at MVMCP since we cancelled after the situation with DH's Grandfather, but I'm sure you'll be back to The World at some point and who knows, maybe we'll be there too!

Can't wait to hear more about the trip. I have my TR started, but so far we're off to a pretty slow start since we just got back from a trip to Boston, but it'll be picking up sometime in the next week or two!

 

[KristinAnne]

I'm excited to read your TR, as I always am! I enjoyed the decorations at the Boardwalk the most. I thought they were beautiful. I remembering thinking about you when I was there, but I'm not sure I would have said hello even if I had seen you. I probably would have pointed and whispered to DH and ultimately not said anything because I would have been freaked out you didn't know who I was.

 

[starann]

DH and I have been 3 times in the past year and a half and halfway through our last trip, DH also told me he was getting tired of Disney World!!!! How is that possible?! You have to teach me how you convinced Patrick to go again so I can try!

Also, we were in the Candlelight "preferred" area with the rest of the herd for Illuminations, and I got so aggravated with the wall to wall people, we left thinking "oh whatever, we've seen Illuminations before." Then when we hit about Canada DH convinced me to just stop and watch the rest. OMG, I am glad I did! The finale was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! So much so we went back to Epcot another nite just to watch that finale. I can only imagine what the New Years eve show is like.

Great start to the TR, by the way

There must be somethign in the water, cause DH said the same thing to me today about our trip. We are planning a trip for Sept of this year and DH said to me today, "Really, I mean it, this is the last trip to Disney for awhile. I'm getting sick of it" I can't beleive I am married to this man!! We have been been to WDW every other year since 06, so this will ONLY be our 3rd trip!!!!


Oh and Carrie, I love your trip reports.....I find myself goofing off at work and checking them!

 

[norybell]

Woo-hoo, another Carrie TR has begun! I'm so excited!

And now I have a variant of "Spider Pig" from The Simpsons in my head:
Danger Frog / Danger Frog / Doin' whatever a danger frog does...

Here's my question about the BWI -- is it noisy, being so close to the Boardwalk? I'm so tempted to try it, because I love the new decor, but I may just be too much of a YC girl at heart.

And hey, I just got a Sony DSC HX-1 a little while ago! I broke it in on my October trip. Does Patrick like it? I really do, though sometimes I think I shoulda just taken the SLR plunge...

Anyway, great beginning! Can't wait for the next chapter!

 

[lurkyloo]

hey lurkyloo im joining in...i love your TR's! Can't wait to read more!

Hiya! Thanks for joining in!

Hi Carrie!! I just found your TR and I'm so excited to read it as we're planning a December trip to WDW this year!! I can't wait to hear all about the Christmas festivities!! I'm also interested to hear about this D23 event as I'm now a charter member (thanks to the gift DH gave me for Christmas)!! Can't wait to read more about your trip!!

Ooh - congrats on the D23 membership! And I am so glad to hear you want to hear about Christmas directly after Christmas, cuz I was kinda worried no one would be interested in a Christmas trippie in January...

Carrie, I'm really late in getting started on your report so I wanted to start by saying I'm so sorry to hear about your dad. DH lost his dad near the holidays 2 years ago and I understand how hard it can be for a family.

Thank you so much!

I'm glad you have your report to help take your mind off things. Your pictures so far are great! I was not good at following along with all your pre-trip plans, did you just get a room at Boardwalk and not rent DVC?

Yes! We added three days at the start of our trip and it was too late to do DVC, plus we had a 40% off discount, so we went for "real" BoardWalk Inn.

It was great to meet you at Disapalooza after all this time! I'll be sure to add in a few pics when you get to that part in your report

We had such a fun time with you guys! Like you said, I can't believe it's taken us this long to meet, and I'm so glad we were able to!

I was very interested to read your review of Kouzzina...I also heard the podcast report about it and wondered how they were doing. We were just in WDW last week, and one morning I caught an ABC interview with Cat Cora, where she was cooking at the restaurant. I wondered if that was part of getting more PR about the restaurant and if people were not going or not liking it.

I'll bet you're right! If only they knew that it's not the type of cuisine but its execution that's most off-putting...

Carrie I am FINALLy all caught up. I am so very sorry for the loss of your dad. I can't imagine losing a parent. I am so glad Jensey was there with you to help you through that night. What a great friend she is.

Thank you for your kind note!

I can't believe Patrick had to leave early of your trip. Granted it was for an awesome thing but still that stinks.

See, that's what I'm saying! Thanks for the support!

After a lengthy absence from the DIS to finish graduate school, I am caught up on your trippie! Few! What a read

Wow - congratulations on finishing graduate school!

I love the little tree frogs that cling to windows and doors in Florida. They bring back fond memories of my grandparents (they live in florida).

Oh I'm glad you clarified that - for a minute there I thought your grandparents liked to cling to windows and doors!

I'm here! Whew!

I'm so sorry about your dad.

So nice meeting you at D23. I also ditched the CP Illuminations viewing area (I went before D23 event) and stayed by Morroco. A most excellent spot!


Looking fwd to rest of your TR.

Hi there! It was so nice to be able to meet you at the D23 event, and it was fun to run into each other again so many times!

Uh oh---how did I miss the start of this TR?!

Dude, how did *I* miss the start of yours?

Sorry we didn't end up bumping into eachother over a piece of PB Chocolate cake (although it is delicious!) or at MVMCP since we cancelled after the situation with DH's Grandfather, but I'm sure you'll be back to The World at some point and who knows, maybe we'll be there too!

I was bummed that it didn't work out for us to get together, but I totally understood what it was like to be in your situation. I have a good feeling we'll run into each other some day!

I'm excited to read your TR, as I always am! I enjoyed the decorations at the Boardwalk the most. I thought they were beautiful. I remembering thinking about you when I was there, but I'm not sure I would have said hello even if I had seen you. I probably would have pointed and whispered to DH and ultimately not said anything because I would have been freaked out you didn't know who I was.

Hey, if you ever see us you should *totally* say hi! To paraphrase Will Rogers, "A DISer is just a friend you haven't met yet!

There must be somethign in the water, cause DH said the same thing to me today about our trip. We are planning a trip for Sept of this year and DH said to me today, "Really, I mean it, this is the last trip to Disney for awhile. I'm getting sick of it" I can't beleive I am married to this man!! We have been been to WDW every other year since 06, so this will ONLY be our 3rd trip!!!!

What is wrong with these guys?! Hmm... maybe we should organize a traveling party of Disney Widows and go without them....

Woo-hoo, another Carrie TR has begun! I'm so excited!

And now I have a variant of "Spider Pig" from The Simpsons in my head:
Danger Frog / Danger Frog / Doin' whatever a danger frog does...

I love it! I actually had that in my head while I was writing it!

Here's my question about the BWI -- is it noisy, being so close to the Boardwalk? I'm so tempted to try it, because I love the new decor, but I may just be too much of a YC girl at heart.

I was worried about noise too but only once noticed it, and that was when a little boy was going berserk running around the Christmas tree on the lawn. And I think our window was open at the time. The rest of our stay was quite peaceful.

And hey, I just got a Sony DSC HX-1 a little while ago! I broke it in on my October trip. Does Patrick like it? I really do, though sometimes I think I shoulda just taken the SLR plunge...

The way I get over that feeling is to acknowledge that neither of us has the time or interest to Photoshop all our vacation pictures. For us, the trade-off in quality is made up by convenience.

 

[lurkyloo]

OK, I’m going to post the first part of Day 2 now, but I’m not sure when I’ll get to the next installment. I’m spending the next two weeks up in Northern California emptying my dad’s house, and I don’t know if I’ll have an Internet connection there. Fingers crossed!

***********************************

Part of my strategy for making this trip more relaxing and thus more DH-friendly was abandoning our usual touring style, which involves getting up early and making it to the park for rope-drop to avoid the crowds, along with highly calibrated dining reservations scheduled on either side of popular meal times. So on our first morning at Walt Disney World, not only did we sleep in, we wandered into Kouzzina for a late breakfast without a reservation!!! We waited about 10 minutes for one of the numerous empty tables. I know there must be some staffing-related reason they do this, but it just looks like they’re being difficult.

Once again, I felt duty-bound to order something Greek-ish from the menu, so we split…

Stacked Kouzzina Breakfast - Two Poached Eggs, Kalamata Olive Toast, Artichoke Spread, and Sweet Potato Hash with choice of Bacon or Chicken Sausage

We forgot that Disney serves that chewy turkey bacon or we prolly woulda ordered the chicken sausage. Like dinner, breakfast was just OK. Actually, DH had a strongly negative reaction – he thought it was flavorless and overpriced (12 bucks). I liked the artichoke spread, but the hash was tiny sweet potato bits smothered in onions and peppers. We were still hungry, so I ordered the kids’ Mickey waffles and DH ate the three-piece fruit salad it came with.

You might do OK here ordering the traditional Disney breakfast items, but I don’t think any of it’s gonna knock your socks off.

After breakfast, we ambled down the BoardWalk toward Epcot. Along the way we saw…

And this…

And what’s this…? A Disney wedding?!

And Randy Chapman!

Dear Whoever You Are,

Sorry we accidentally stalked your wedding.

Love, Carriatrick

We got into Epcot just after World Showcase opened and pretty much had the place to ourselves – bliss! In France, we stopped in at the pretty Guerlain store where I can never find anything to spend my money on despite trying really really hard.

We also spotted a random guy dressed like Santa Claus posing for pictures with people. I said to DH, “Hey, let’s take a horribly backlit, awkwardly posed iPhone shot of me with Fake Santa!” and here it is…

While DH was checking out one of the French CMs’ pin lanyards, I decided it would be a hoot to learn how to say “May I see your pins?” in the language of each country on the World Showcase. I typed each phrase into my iPhone notepad phonetically, with varying results. For example, in France when I said what sounds like, “Preesh vwah voo peens?” I got lots of smiles and nods of approval. But my mission came to a grinding halt in Morocco, where the CMs don’t wear pins.

DH’s mission in Morocco, it seems, was to take lots of pictures from crazy angles!

I looooove this fabric on the benches in the museum. I think if we ever get to real Morocco, I’ll be coming home with a lot of fabric…

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could go up on the second story here?

Another cool second story.

Forgive us for taking all these pix … we just love the place!

 

[lurkyloo]

On our way to Japan we happened upon an interactive part of the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure right as it was being activated. It made us want to try the game sometime - the various animatronics they’ve added to the pavilions really fit the theming and add interest.


Dead tree….

Live tree!

Now I know you’re supposed to wait to buy your souvenirs til the very last day of your trip, when you’ve had a chance to see everything, but when we set foot inside the Mitsukoshi Department Store, its Japanese Cute Rays zapped us and we went on a mad shopping spree. Each thing you see is cuter than the last, and you must purchase it ALL!

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

Too much good stuff!

Did I mention they had an entire display unit dedicated to Domo? Finally!!! I can’t believe it took an entire Target ad campaign to get the buyers for the Japan Pavilion gift shop to be aware of Domo!

*Zen Shopping Break*

Back to shopping!!!!

There goes the souvenir budget!

After that we needed to step back and contemplate the error of our ways in this lovely rock garden…

…where, it turns out, no photography is allowed – whoops! It was in the gallery, and they had an exhibit of really gorgeous pictures of Japan that you will have to imagine with your *mind*!


Back outside, we lavished a little more photographic attention on the pavilion.

Someday, I want a koi pond of my very own… in the backyard of my house that looks like Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion and has a room themed to each of the park’s different lands…

Is it just me, or does the Epcot Ball look WAY bigger through DH’s new camera?

Oh yeah – and at some point I tried asking a Japanese CM “Peeng oh misaytay kudasai?” and was politely slapped across the mouth.


Off to America!

In the America Pavilion, I listened to the story of Hanukkah while DH snapped pictures of pictures.


Santa Claus of the Mississippi

I also learned how to request a pin trade in American: “OMG, may I C UR pins? LOL! TTYL!”


Our stop in Italy was cut short when I made a total fool of myself by asking a dreamy Italian CM, “Vidair-ay le too-ay speel-ay?” and accidentally got his number.

Only two pix here.

These are the doors I was shown!

 

[lurkyloo]

On our way to Germany, we happened upon what at first appeared to be a bucolic scene of holiday splendor.

But something sinister was lurking just under the surface….


GARGANTUAN KILLER LIZARDS!!!

“Merry Chrissssssssmasssssss!”

Young lovers, beware!!!

“Cookies! I smell cookies!”

It was almost time for our lunch ADR at Coral Reef, so we dashed down to the Germany boat dock and waited and waited and waited for a Friendship boat. Turns out you can be late to your ADR and no one cares!

They tried to seat us at crummy table for four up on the gloomy, crowded top level, but I pointed out they had a table for two next to the tank and they switched us. Whew!

Much better…

Steve!

We split the Lobster Bisque to start.

When I saw they no longer had my beloved pepperjack cheese grits on the menu, I panicked and had us split the Apricot-braised Beef Short Rib with crushed Yukon Gold potatoes, snap peas, sweet peppers, and barbecue glaze.

It was OK, but the sauce had some spice in it (saffron? curry?) that I don’t like. We were in a seafood restaurant, fer cryin’ out loud – I shoulda ordered the dang trout!


Steve came by to personally apologize for the meal…

This guy, on the other hand, showed no remorse

And this guy has no idea where he is or what he’s eating…

 

[lurkyloo]

After lunch, DH requested a stop outside The Livng Seas With Nemo & Friends for a photo op or 15…

(You may be wondering, “What was Lurkyloo doing during this endless interlude?” The answer is “Staring into space and thinking about cake.”)

This photo series wouldn’t be complete without the villains, so….

Once inside Living Seas, I got distracted by the man in the tube, and when his presentation was over, DH was gone.

I had no cell phone service and was starting to feel like a certain little girl who got lost at Grass Valley K-Mart while her parents were shopping and, not having the sense God gave a donut hole, became convinced they had simply left her there.


”Paaaaaatriiiiiiick! Where aaaaarrrrrrrrre yooooooooou?!”

“OK, I found Nemo – now where the H is Patrick?!”

Fortunately, both of us are nutty about manatees, and we were soon reunited at the feeding demonstration going on at the top of their tank. Whew!

While we were upstairs, we discovered a part of the Living Seas that we had never seen before! I don’t know how we missed it, but did you know there’s a big, well-marked glass hall that goes to a circular bank of windows into the tank? Even better, going around the circle is so disorienting that when you get back to the hall, you think you’ve found a second hall to yet another part of Living Seas you’ve never seen before! I coulda gone around that thing for days…

Awright, let’s wrap this up with a few more fish pictures and move on to the next part of the day.

This one’s blurry but I had to include it cuz I think that eel is so dang cute!

 

[lurkyloo]

Back to the World Showcase! We wanted to see Mexico in all its holiday glory.


Looky! They gotta piñata!

On our way in, we noticed that one of the Animales Fantasticos artists had just started a small, affordable-looking piece, so we bought it on the spot and asked them to send it back to our hotel so we could surprise ourselves on Christmas morning with the results.

Before:

After:

Just kidding!...


After!

Inside the pavilion was gorgeous.

We took a spin on the Three Caballeros ride.

(Panchito didn’t show up for his yearbook picture…)


It’s like the Mexican Blue Bayou!

We tried to get shots of the new tequila bar cuz the atmosphere is so cool, but they’re a little blurry.

I also dusted off my high school Spanish to ask one of the CMs, “Puedo mirar a sus pins, por favor?” and she replied, “Been a long time since high school, eh?”


Up Next: Animal Kingdom… After Dark! Plus, dinner at Jiko with da Roots!

 

[woodleygrrl]

Just found your report. Welcome back and I am sorry about your dad. I cant imagine how you feel, but it sounds like you have some great friends and family to support you.

I follow you on Twitter and we talked a month or so ago. We bonded over the mass amount of Disney trips we have taken over the past year. I have 4 under my belt in 18 months. Ack. I think I have a problem.

Anywho, great report and i will keep your family in my prayers.

Jennifer

 

[TotallyAngelic]

WOW .... your photo are truly stunning .... I am a big fan of "photos taken from a strange and unusual angle" and you have lots of them .... really amazing shots. I am loving this report ... really funny. but also interesting and informative. Looking forward to the next installment.

 

[praisehisname]

While DH was checking out one of the French CMs’ pin lanyards, I decided it would be a hoot to learn how to say “May I see your pins?” in the language of each country on the World Showcase. I typed each phrase into my iPhone notepad phonetically, with varying results.

I love the results you got from your efforts!

GARGANTUAN KILLER LIZARDS!!!

Love it! I would have probably totally missed that!

Turned out beautiful!

All of your photos are gorgeous!!!

 

[Beka]

So I'm reading your latest installment with my son in my lap, and he points to the pics of the train display, and says "Ooh!" When I get to the pics of the killer lizards, he says "Meow!" Apparently, killer German lizards "meow" instead of hiss or whatever. Who knew?

I completely forgot about the tequila bar when we were in EPCOT this summer! *Doh!* My b-day could have been really interesting!