My First Trip Report! - "Escape from New York" - completed

[CaptainAlex]

As a fellow New York from the other side of the state (although I spent the 1st 8 years in NYC and then the next 16 in Orange County) I wanted to drop you a line.

Your narrative is one that has brought out every emotion a person can have: frustration (with the snow), fear (with the wrong way winter driving on the belt parkway), apprehension (with DD tugging of her ear and knowing what that means), contentment (The mixer), joy (arriving at WDW) and happiness (your time with your family).

I'm looking forward to reading more!

 

[baseballmickey]

As a fellow New York from the other side of the state (although I spent the 1st 8 years in NYC and then the next 16 in Orange County) I wanted to drop you a line.

Your narrative is one that has brought out every emotion a person can have: frustration (with the snow), fear (with the wrong way winter driving on the belt parkway), apprehension (with DD tugging of her ear and knowing what that means), contentment (The mixer), joy (arriving at WDW) and happiness (your time with your family).

I'm looking forward to reading more!

Hello from the other side of NY! Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment.

As I've been writing this, I have been recalling all of these emotional swings we had during the trip. At the time, it seemed to me like we were always shifting gears, from one emotion to another. Looking back on the trip as a whole, I realize that most of those emotions were always present, and whatever was happening at the moment dictated which emotion rose to the top. In some ways, that was good because it allowed us to get quickly out of a funk and into "disney" mode. On the other hand, it also meant that those negative emotions never truly subsided, and we were that much closer to potentially blowing our tops...

 

[Mouseteacher]

What a wonderful report! I am really enjoying reading it.

 

[sheri18]

cant wait to read the rest.....your daughter looked "none the worse for wear" as my mom would say.....what a little trooper she is....you and your DW too...

 

[mamaboogie]

Well done to you all for making the best of your day! You did the right thing.

Your DD looks like she's having lots of fun - despite the ear infection!

 

[Monknmom]

I am joining in! We live in NY and are going to be driving down this December! I am hoping that we don't get as bad a winter as we had this last year! That was HORRIBLE! Your TR has me saying YAY and Oh my goodness all at once! I am happy that you finally got there and got some stuff for DD to feel better! You have a really happy looking family so far! By now I would bet that your wife had the baby though right? Was it a boy or girl?

 

[amandaw]

Your DD is quite the little trooper! Sounds like y'all still had a pretty good day, even with DD developing the ear infection. Glad y'all were able to get her checked out & get her meds....without having to miss 1900 Park Fare! I can't wait to hear about NYE at MK!

 

[baseballmickey]

What a wonderful report! I am really enjoying reading it.

Thank you so much!

cant wait to read the rest.....your daughter looked "none the worse for wear" as my mom would say.....what a little trooper she is....you and your DW too...

Thank you! I'm not sure where she gets it from.

Well done to you all for making the best of your day! You did the right thing.

Your DD looks like she's having lots of fun - despite the ear infection!

Thank you! We got some good breaks, I guess. If DD wasn't having fun we wouldn't have pushed it.

I am joining in! We live in NY and are going to be driving down this December! I am hoping that we don't get as bad a winter as we had this last year! That was HORRIBLE! Your TR has me saying YAY and Oh my goodness all at once! I am happy that you finally got there and got some stuff for DD to feel better! You have a really happy looking family so far! By now I would bet that your wife had the baby though right? Was it a boy or girl?

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a much better time driving down than we did. Yes, DW did have the baby back in April. I was keeping it a secret until the end of the report, but then again, my signature gives it away.

Your DD is quite the little trooper! Sounds like y'all still had a pretty good day, even with DD developing the ear infection. Glad y'all were able to get her checked out & get her meds....without having to miss 1900 Park Fare! I can't wait to hear about NYE at MK!

Thanks! At this point we were relieved to have the meds, but we also knew that antibiotics take a few days to kick in... so we were hoping she'd be okay for the rest of the trip. Should have the first installment of NYE at MK up soon.

 

[PoohGal05]

Your stoory is SO great! Full of suspense and the like. However, I won't get to finish reading any more until we get back, as we are leaving in the morning! I have a 3 year old son and a 62 year old mother who are climbing the walls! It's not even funny that Disney was referenced TWICE in today's sermon at church!

 

[baseballmickey]

Your stoory is SO great! Full of suspense and the like. However, I won't get to finish reading any more until we get back, as we are leaving in the morning! I have a 3 year old son and a 62 year old mother who are climbing the walls! It's not even funny that Disney was referenced TWICE in today's sermon at church!

Thanks! I hope you have a great trip!

 

[Monknmom]

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a much better time driving down than we did. Yes, DW did have the baby back in April. I was keeping it a secret until the end of the report, but then again, my signature gives it away.

I know sorry I always jump ahead even in books I read the beginning, end, middle! I will keep it a secrete!

 

[baseballmickey]

I know sorry I always jump ahead even in books I read the beginning, end, middle! I will keep it a secrete!

well, whether you read this frontwards, backwards, or jumping around, I am just very happy to have people reading it at all!!

I am working on the next update as I write this... it will be up shortly. I promise.

 

[baseballmickey]

We woke up that Friday morning knowing that for the first time in forever, we’d be celebrating New Year’s Eve together, and away from home. We were all still sick. I now had a cough to go with my sniffles, DW was still congested, and DD was not sniffling as much, but she still had that cough… and every time we heard it, we couldn’t help but worry.

In no condition to push ourselves, we took our time getting up and out of the resort that morning, knowing that it was going to be a long day. We set out for the park, already in a festive mood. The weather was cool, so DD and I were wearing light jackets, and DW a hoodie, to go along with our festive hats, and we would wear them all day long!!

.

We took the most popular route to the park because we wanted to see the entrance sign and get some pics.

Having already ridden the monorail the day before, we opted for the Ferry. I like to take the Ferry at least once during a trip. If you’ve never taken the ferry, I highly recommend doing so at least once! As we approached MK, you could see the top of the Christmas tree on Main Street, USA.

It was around 9:30 when we finally passed through security. A train was just pulling into the Main Street station as we walked underneath. DW snatched up some guide maps and we emerged into Town Square. The most striking difference to me from previous visits was the music. The usual MSUSA sountrack had been replaced with Christmas music. The song was “Caroling Caroling”. We walked out into Town Square a bit before stopping to take in the scene.

You might expect Disney to be more themed or maybe more over-the-top with its tree, but I think it was tastefully done.

As we stopped by the tree and looked up Main Street toward the castle, we saw the horse drawn trolley coming down with some street performers on it. It came to a stop in front of us, and the performers got out to dance.

This is a view looking back down Main Street toward the tree. No, we're not leaving! We're just getting started!

After all the hype about it being “the busiest day of the year” for MK, the crowd didn’t seem bad. We had seen much worse on our previous trip right before Easter. There were character greetings going on, and they all had the typical lines, but our first order of business was breakfast, so we continued up Main Street, pausing to get our picture…

And here’s DD and DW taking a small rest on line at the Main Street Bakery. I share this pic for 2 reasons. First, because it's the best I've seen DD and DW look since we left NY 4 days earlier. Secondly, to prove that we hadn't even made it up Main Street, and both of them had broken the "wear your hat all day" rule.

For the record, my hat was still on. After breakfast, we headed for Fantasyland, with the occasional stop for a pictures

Okay, so you're probably getting the sense that this is going to be a picture heavy day. I hope you are enjoying them. I am trying to include pictures that also might give you a sense of what the crowd was like. I am almost at the limit for this post, so I want to squeeze this last picture in.

I had been to WDW during the holidays once before, as a kid, although I don't remember it at all. I dug up this picture of my family on Main Street USA. My best guess is that this is December, 1979 (or 1980 if I am wrong). As you can see, the decorations are much the same... mickey wreaths on the lampposts, wreaths strung across Main Street, and you can see part of the tree in town square.

And in case you are wondering, I am front row, first on the left, with the Kenny G. haircut.

I think this is a good spot to pause before we continue into...

Fantasyland!

 

[Monknmom]

YAY DD is starting to feel better! And DW too.. I hope she continues up! I like how picture heavy you are it gives me a sense for my vacation this year!

 

[amandaw]

Love, love, love the update!!! Especially all of the photos! Seeing all of the Christmas decor in your pics has me so excited to go on our quick get-away in December. Actually, yesterday, I was considering just canceling it. Now, you have me wanting to see if I can talk my husband into adding just 1 more day! Can't wait to hear more & see more pics!

 

[shan23877]

Love the pics! Keep 'em coming--can't wait to see more of MK dressed up for the holidays. Glad DW and DD were feeling a little better!

 

[dekkerdisneydreamer]

Never worry about picture heavy posts!! We DISers are nothing but picture hounds!

l love the festive hats, hopefully the make another appearance with DD & DW! That is a really great picture, by the way, I hope that they remain feeling better.

Nice retro pic!! You've got the look in that picture like "You talkin to me?" Sorry I had to.

 

[Señor DonDuck]

Picture heavy posts are always welcome, especially when they are Christmas decoration photos!

 

[baseballmickey]

YAY DD is starting to feel better! And DW too.. I hope she continues up! I like how picture heavy you are it gives me a sense for my vacation this year!

Glad I can help!

Love, love, love the update!!! Especially all of the photos! Seeing all of the Christmas decor in your pics has me so excited to go on our quick get-away in December. Actually, yesterday, I was considering just canceling it. Now, you have me wanting to see if I can talk my husband into adding just 1 more day! Can't wait to hear more & see more pics!

canceling??? are you out of your MIND???!!?!?!?!!

I so wish we had spent more time there. Even as I am writing this, I can't believe it's almost over. In hindsight I wish we had skipped Christmas at home and had a longer stay at WDW. maybe next time.

Love the pics! Keep 'em coming--can't wait to see more of MK dressed up for the holidays. Glad DW and DD were feeling a little better!

Thanks! I'll do my best to keep them coming then!

Never worry about picture heavy posts!! We DISers are nothing but picture hounds!

l love the festive hats, hopefully the make another appearance with DD & DW! That is a really great picture, by the way, I hope that they remain feeling better.

Nice retro pic!! You've got the look in that picture like "You talkin to me?" Sorry I had to.

Thanks! glad you're enjoying the pics!

Picture heavy posts are always welcome, especially when they are Christmas decoration photos!

great! i'll see what else I have for you!

 

[usd2bmd]

Last night I was reading your TR and my daughter came out and told me that I had a problem and needed help...Seems she thinks I'm addicted to reading other peoples trip reports. This is what gives me that bit of Disney Magic that I need to keep me going in between trips, and it's has been too long since I walked under the train station into the Magic Kingdom myself. So let me say a HUGE THANK YOU.