No kids; AKV/BWV split stay; V&A; BM Tour; Lots of pics & video

This guy needs no introduction
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His better side with Belle
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And the happy couple
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After Beauty and the Beast, we scooted over to see the Osborne Family Lights. This is another thing we have never seen. The story behind this display is that an Arkansas resident, Jennings Osborne and his family were very big on the Holidays. In 1986, Jennings asked his youngest daughter Breezy what her Christmas wish was. She replied that she would like to see their whole house covered in lights. They had a large house but Jennings was determined to make his daughter's Christmas dream come true. That first year the Osborne family covered their home with a modest 1,000 red lights. With each passing year, the family wanted to do more. The Osbornes eventually purchased property adjacent to their own in order to expand on their newfound hobby. The display grew to millions of lights. There were flashing lights, multi-colored lights, custom-made light sculptures and a 75-foot Christmas tree adorned by lights. This drew onlookers from all over Arkansas. The local residents asked that the Osborne family stop the annual display because of the traffic jams. Legal intervention was sought, and it appeared that the Osborne's tradition was about to come to an end. When Mickey Mouse got word of this, he offered a venue where the Osborne lights could be shared with visitors from around the globe. In 1995, Disney's Hollywood Studios became the home of this dazzling light show. Approximately 80% of the lights that are on display come from the original Osborne collection. Here are a couple of pics of this display....

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This is something that still pics cannot do justice so here is a video link....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPZ7Q_LkRIE

We have reservations at the Flying Fish at 8:35 back on the Boardwalk so we decide to skip Tower of Terror tonight and give our fastpasses away. We took the boat back to the Boardwalk. It was a nice pleasant ride that takes about 25-30 minutes.
 
The Flying Fish restaurant is on the Boardwalk right next to the BWV. We originally had ressies at Kouzzina by Cat Cora but were notified about a month before we left that this restaurant would be under renovation during our stay. We were pretty lucky to get ADR's so late to the Flying Fish. Here is their menu....

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For an appetizer we shared the Chef's Degustation of Cheeses. It is five different cheeses from around the world accompanied by various items such as honey, figs or raisins. It was very good and went well with the suggested Merlot wine.

For our entree, DW had the Red Snapper and I had the Surf & Surf (flounder and shrimp scampi). DW's snapper was great and my flounder was pretty good but the shrimp scampi needed more sauce. I guess we are more accustomed to the creole style of shrimp scampi. It wasn't bad but I prefer it a bit spicier.

Dessert was creme brulee for DW and cheesecake for me. Both were excellent. I decided to splurge and try an after dinner cognac of Remy Martin VSOP. The price range varied from $8 - $195 for a 2 ounce drink. No way I am spending $195 for a 2 ounce shot! I didn't get the $8 drink but mine was definately on the lower end of that scale. Maybe you get what you pay for but I think they got something mixed up because this drink smelled and tasted like paint thinner! :eek: I could not finish it but one thing for sure, if you had a couple of these, you had better have a designated driver to take you home! WHEW!!
 
If you are staying at BWV and have pictures or other purchases sent to the hotel, you do not pick them up at BWV. They are found at the Carnival Shoppe/Thimbles and Threads located around the corner from BWV on the Boardwalk. We retrieve our purchases and stop at the desk at BWV to get our new room card for the 2nd reservation. We could not get it because the day had not arrived yet. Sighhhhh. CM said it would be slipped under our door the next morning.
 
FRIDAY - 03DEC2010

Not much planned for today. We have ADR's tonight at Bistro de Paris. There is an envelope that has been slipped under the door. It is not our new room key but a checkout notice. Sighhhh. We head to check-in to straighten it out and as we are about to leave the room, mousekeeping was about to enter to prep the room for the next guest. We told her we were there for another day. She was real nice about it and thanked us for letting her know. It didn't take 5 minutes to straighten everything out. You have to pass right by the desk on the way out from our room so it wasn't a big deal.

We stop by Boardwalk Bakery again for breakfast. This place is really good for a quick bite. We took the boat to DHS and arrived about 9:30. We went straight to Toy Story Mania to get a fastpass and it was for 2:30! The line wait time was 45 minutes so DW waited in line while I went to Tower of Terror and got a fastpass for 10:30. On the way I got a text message from DW that the wait time had increased to 90 minutes and the line was inside so she waited outside for me. We didn't want to break in line once inside. By the time I got back to TSM, the fastpass was now 4:20 but the wait time was 60 minutes. Go figure how they calculate these things.

We have never been to TSM so we decided to wait it out in line. It only took about 40 minutes and we met some nice people in line. The couple in front of us had two small children that were extremely well-behaved. The couple behind us had two children that, well, were not so well-behaved. DW and I complimented the couple in front of us about how good their children were behaving and they seemed very appreciative. We remember when ours were little and how much we tried to make sure they did not upset others while in line or at a restaurant. We are always amazed at how some parents put absolutely no restraint on their children in public to the dismay of all around them. I don't blame the children, kids will be kids, it is their parents that are responsible for their behavior. Okay, off my soapbox. We really enjoyed TSM. It is right up there with Buzz Light Year. My score wasn't that great but I did beat that other person riding with me! :cool1:

When we left, the fastpass time for TSM was now 7:15! WOW. Before we head to ToT, we stop to get a pic....

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Next it was on to Tower of Terror. This is a fun ride and not too bad on your back. The little girl next to us was brave up until we boarded the ride and then she got scared. DW and I told her it was going to be fun and we had ridden it many times. Her mother said that big man would protect her. Hmmmm, was she talking about my height or girth? Besides, who was going to protect me? From this pic, you can see it would be my lovely DW....

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We ate lunch at Fairfax Fare in DHS. We split the 1/2 chicken, 1/2 rib plate. It was real good but Whispering Canyon Cafe yesterday has them beat. We decided to do some more resort sightseeing so we catch a bus to Saratogo Springs Resort. We have stayed at Old Key West twice and thought it was spread out. It doesn't hold a candle to SSR. This place is massive! It would take a day or two just to figure out the bus schedule! :)

Here are a few pics in the lobby at SSR....

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We walk around a bit more at SSR and then decide to get the next bus to MK. This was a mistake! MK is a madhouse. They are in the middle of filming the Christmas parade to be aired on Christmas day. Today they have all the cheerleaders from around the country there and combined with their families, this place is packed! We skirt around Main Street and head to the back of the park through Fantasyland. 2nd mistake! I guess it must be stroller day because I have never seen so many baby strollers in my life. Outside of It's A Small World they are lined up at least 12-15 deep and stretch all the way around the corner to the Pinnochio Village Haus and don't even try to get close to Cinderella's Carrousel.

We decide to make our way back to the entrance through Frontierland and Adventureland. We stop only to get a Dole Whip and a Mickey ice cream bar. It is difficult at best to make your way. There is something about teenagers that cannot walk single file. You see it in the mall where they must walk 4, 5 or 6 across! ;) Same here today. We stopped at the store next to Casey's Corner and I asked the CM if the crowd was more than usual. She said it was a zoo!! There is a sign outside of City Hall that says Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is sold out for the night. That doesn't surprise me at all.

We are walking out and the filming is still happening on Main Street. This guy was there and there is a group of female teenagers yelling, "Ryan, we love you!" :rotfl2:

Ryan Seacrest from American Idol
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We made our way back to the Boardwalk. We stopped at the Boardwalk Bakery and purchased the gingerbread house DW eyed our first time here. We go next door to Seashore Sweets and pickup some candy for DD and DDbf. We take the goodies back to the room at BWV. Our ADR at Bistro de Paris isn't until 8:30 so DW lays down for a bit and crashes. I threatened to post the pic I took of her but I value my life too much to do that! :laughing:

While she is asleep, I sneak out and head back to EPCOT. On the way, I tried the panorama feature on my camera again and shot this of the Boardwalk....

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I walk over to the United Kingdom in EPCOT and purchased a silk scarf from Scotland that DW looked at when we were there before. This will be a surprise Christmas gift for her. As I mentioned previously, there is an area behind the main shops in the UK. In the gazebo they are having a tribute to the Beatles with a band playing their hits. The group would never be confused with the originals but they did have the "mop-top" haircuts right anyway! This is just one of the countless number of non-headliner events that happen all the time at WDW. Keep your eyes and ears open all the time because there is no telling what you might run up on.

After a trip back to the room to wake up DW, we head back to EPCOT. We have plenty of time before our ADR so we take in the American Adventure show. We look at it a bit differently after the backstage tour but it still is a fantastic show. If you are like me and get goosebumps when they play the national anthem, you'll love this show!
 
We arrive at Bistro de Paris for our 8:30 reservations. This restaurant is upstairs over the other one in France - Les Chefs de France. If you can imagine a very nice, fine dining, elegant French restaurant, then Bistro is it. It is not part of the Disney Dining Plan or it would take 3+ table service credits. However, the Tables In Wonderland discount card is redeemable here.

Being a party of two, we are seated next to the window and had a superb view of the lake. Our CM is Thibaud from Paris. I am hard of hearing and his French accent is heavy. Combine that with Tibaud speaking in hushed tones in keeping with the restaurants atmosphere and I have difficult understanding him. After failing to make out what he was saying, I kept asking for his suggestions. To his credit, Tibaud did not recommend the most expensive items for every course or wine pairings but he did suggest some fantastic items.

I ordered (or Tibaud did) the three course Prix Fixe menu. There was a choice of 3 different appetizers, 3 entrees and 2 desserts. My choices were jumbo sauteed shrimp for appetizer, sea bass for the entree and a creme brulee for dessert. DW ordered smoked salmon for appetizer, rack of lamb for her entree and crepes duo for dessert.

The chef sent out a pre-appetizer course of a crab dip inside a hollowed out zucchini and champagne as well. What a way to start a meal! Next was our ordered appetizers and my shrimp was great. It had a sauce very familiar to what we get in New Olreans (duh, French restaurant - New Orleans!). It was like a remoulade sauce. DW's smoke salmon was accompanied with a horseradish and caviar cream that was magnificent.

For our entree, Thibaud wheeled out the carving tray to slice DW's rack of lamb. He carves the first piece and displays it asking if it was to her liking. Of course it was! It was as tender as could be and even better lamb than we had the first night at Jiko's. My sea bass was very light and was covered with a champagne cream sauce. OMG, it was undescribable!

Dessert for me was a vanilla creme brulee with caramelized rice pudding and ice cream. WOW! The hot pudding and the cold ice cream made all your taste buds come alive. DW had the crepes duo - one was crepe suzette and the other similar to an apple fritter. Tibaud rolled out the dessert tray and asked the couple next to us to move their chairs back a bit. He proceeded to put on a show. He flambeed the crepes and the flame was at least 3 feet high. Now I know why he asked the adjoining couple to move back! The crepes were every bit as great as the show from Tibaud. With our dessert, he brought us a wine that was made from pineapple, peach, nuts and dates. I expected it be fruity but it was not at all. It was the perfect compliment to a perfect dessert.

I mentioned having a seat by the window. It wasn't long before the Illuminations fireworks display began and we had a front row seat! Here we were eating at a very elegant French restaurant, a fantastic meal and a prime viewing of a fireworks show. Does this sound like a scene from a movie? It sure seemed like it to us. It was extra hours at EPCOT and we thought about visiting JellyRolls but how could we top this? This was a perfect night to end our stay at WDW so we made our way back to BWV, a crisp chill in the air and fully sated.
 
SATURDAY - 04DEC2010

It is time to head back home to Mississippi. We aren't sure when we will make our way back to WDW. Right now we are trying to decide on this same time period in 2011 or May, 2012...that is, unless DVC "addonitis" strikes again and we get more points to use! :rotfl:

I have enjoyed remembering our trip while writing this trip report. I'm not sure why there have not been any comments or questions since the pre-trip entry but I hope the thousands of viewers have been entertained and informed. That's all for now until we see this again....

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:thumbsup2 Hey Bill !! I am posting so you can be bumped up. This TR was fantastic, I am going to send you a PM in a bit. Our ulf Coast DIS group is meeitng 1/15/11 if the two of you might be in the area. Happy New Year !! Lucretia
 
:thumbsup2 Hey Bill !! I am posting so you can be bumped up. This TR was fantastic, I am going to send you a PM in a bit. Our ulf Coast DIS group is meeitng 1/15/11 if the two of you might be in the area. Happy New Year !! Lucretia

Thanks Lu. We would love to attend your DIS meeting on 1/15. Just let us know where and at what time. The only thing that could keep us away is if the Saints are playing at that time! :lmao:
 
Hi Bill
I just found your trip report tonight and read the whole thing. Wonderful report and pictures. My DH and I are going to WDW in March and look forward to trying many of the same things. Would love to stay at BWV, but we're renting points at OKW and I looked back at your trip report when you stayed there and it looks nice too. We're planning a resort-hopping day and we're going to check out the Boardwalk area.

We stayed at Wilderness Lodge last trip, but took the time to tour all the monorail resorts.

This report sure makes me long for a Christmas trip to WDW. The resorts are beautiful.

Thanks for all your time and effort on this trip report, and on your earlier reports.

Nora
 
Hi Bill
I just found your trip report tonight and read the whole thing. Wonderful report and pictures. My DH and I are going to WDW in March and look forward to trying many of the same things. Would love to stay at BWV, but we're renting points at OKW and I looked back at your trip report when you stayed there and it looks nice too. We're planning a resort-hopping day and we're going to check out the Boardwalk area.

We stayed at Wilderness Lodge last trip, but took the time to tour all the monorail resorts.

This report sure makes me long for a Christmas trip to WDW. The resorts are beautiful.

Thanks for all your time and effort on this trip report, and on your earlier reports.

Nora

Thanks so much for the kind words. I have learned so much by reading other trip reports. I hope others can be entertained and informed by some of my rantings! We love OKW and BWV both for their own separate reasons. Every place on the WDW property have their unique benefits and perks. But when it comes down to it, you're at WDW, it's gotta be great!
 
Hey Bill!

Love the trip report! Sorry I didn't respond earlier, but I have been working crazy hours trying to close the book for year end at work (I was able to rig an antenna and digital tuner box so I can see the Saints game on a 6' projection screen... and I had WWL on the iPad... but all for naught). I still cant get over the fact we lost to the Seahawks! And that Marshawn Lynch run! Ugh. I was hoping for a Green Bay / Saints Champtionship game in the Superdome... so I could come down again.

Anyway - it sure seems like you had a wonderful trip. I am jealous. Its has been a long time since I have been to WDW when Christmas decorations are up... I need to plan for a Nov/Dec trip sooner or later.

My DW, who is not a good plane flyer, finally relented and allowed me to purchase plane tickets to California for a trip to Disneyland. We will be doing our first DVC stay in a 1BR at the Grand Californian for Presidents Week. I didn't tell DW that its rainy season in Feb. Lets hope mother nature doesn't ruin it for us.

We are sailing on the Dream in late Aug / early Sept and will probably do a few days in WDW then as well. I have not made DVC ressies for that trip yet. Will try and shoot for Beach Club or Boardwalk.

Anyway, we are going to get a foot of snow tonight, so I better get some rest as I will have lots of shoveling to do in the AM.

Be well.

-Sil
 
Hey Bill!

Love the trip report! Sorry I didn't respond earlier, but I have been working crazy hours trying to close the book for year end at work (I was able to rig an antenna and digital tuner box so I can see the Saints game on a 6' projection screen... and I had WWL on the iPad... but all for naught). I still cant get over the fact we lost to the Seahawks! And that Marshawn Lynch run! Ugh. I was hoping for a Green Bay / Saints Champtionship game in the Superdome... so I could come down again.

Anyway - it sure seems like you had a wonderful trip. I am jealous. Its has been a long time since I have been to WDW when Christmas decorations are up... I need to plan for a Nov/Dec trip sooner or later.

My DW, who is not a good plane flyer, finally relented and allowed me to purchase plane tickets to California for a trip to Disneyland. We will be doing our first DVC stay in a 1BR at the Grand Californian for Presidents Week. I didn't tell DW that its rainy season in Feb. Lets hope mother nature doesn't ruin it for us.

We are sailing on the Dream in late Aug / early Sept and will probably do a few days in WDW then as well. I have not made DVC ressies for that trip yet. Will try and shoot for Beach Club or Boardwalk.

Anyway, we are going to get a foot of snow tonight, so I better get some rest as I will have lots of shoveling to do in the AM.

Be well.

-Sil

Thanks for the comments about the TR Sil. It is definately a labor of love.

I am sick about the how the Saints ended the season. I too was hoping for a NO/GB NFC championship game but it was not to be. I just hope we have a season next year and there is not a lockout!

I'm jealous about your trip on the Dream! DW and I want to do that as well. I'll say a prayer for good weather during your California trip. I'm not sure when we will return to WDW. We were looking at an all adult trip the same week after Thanksgiving this year but one of the husbands is now in Afghanistan. We are thinking about a trip to Hilton Head or Vero Beach too.

To top it off, I have contacted that dreaded "addonitis" disease again! :lmao:
We are waiting to see if the seller will accept our offer.
 

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