Our first Christmas at the World...Update 9/7 Pg 9

[blueskiesandsunshine]

so excited to read about your christmas trip to the world! dying to go myself. LOVE the pics so far!!

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

We are on our way!!

 

[mecllap]

"bio break" --- love that (haven't heard that term before). I will be stealing that -- as a semi-old lady I need a lot of those.

(If you stay at DVC/timeshare, you can pack less clothes because it's easy to do laundry. Altho you might pack more food -- but then you use that up and have room to bring souvenirs home).

 

[Disneybuckeye]

Yeah! A new topdog trip report. I was a late lurker on your last trippie and I am so excited to get in early on this one. Can't wait for more!

 

[topdog]

Great start! I'm looking forward to the next installment. Love the pix of the stuffed friends with their WDW luggage tags on.

Thanks. Ted was very shy last trip. He made plenty of appearance on this trip even on the ride.

so excited to read about your christmas trip to the world! dying to go myself. LOVE the pics so far!!

Yay! A new reader. Welcome to the party. Christmas at the World is definitely some thing you got to experience at least once.

We are on our way!!

Yes we are.

"bio break" --- love that (haven't heard that term before). I will be stealing that -- as a semi-old lady I need a lot of those.

(If you stay at DVC/timeshare, you can pack less clothes because it's easy to do laundry. Altho you might pack more food -- but then you use that up and have room to bring souvenirs home).

LOL...I don't need a lot of "bio break" if I walk around. But sitting in a car for 10 hours, that's a different story.

We could've do laundry at the resort too but DW choose to pack more clothes instead and I am sticking to that story.

Yeah! A new topdog trip report. I was a late lurker on your last trippie and I am so excited to get in early on this one. Can't wait for more!

Another new reader. That's awesome! Better late than never. I hope this TR will be just as fun for my readers as the last one. It'll be a little slow at the beginning. (How much fun can you get from sitting in car for 10 hours, right?) Once we get to the world, the pace changed almost immediately.

 

[bucci818]

I'm in. Love your pictures...especially heading into the Mid-County tolls ! Driving down that road tomorrow night to the Eagles game! Can't wait for more !!

 

[Native NYer]

Joining in!
Can't wait to read more

 

[PrincessBelle09]

I LOVE your trip reports with your beautiful pictures!!! Thanks for sharing! I can't wait for more!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

TOPDOG!

Hey buddy!

It' been a long time!

I'm so excited to see you started your TR! I can't wait to see all of your photos!

 

[thechesters420]

I loved your last trip report!! Can't wait to hear more!!

 

[GoofyFairie]

Well thank goodness you didn't forget your camera! I don't think your DW could have taken that drama again! I don't blame her for not doing laundry on vacation either. I wish I could get away with it!

So... what are we doing next?

 

[topdog]

I'm in. Love your pictures...especially heading into the Mid-County tolls ! Driving down that road tomorrow night to the Eagles game! Can't wait for more !!

Yay! Another new PA reader. Yes. I heard the Eagles game was postpone last night. Have a great time at the game. How much snow did you get down that way? Up here at the north, we got barely a couple of inches but the snow drift was nasty. The wind is still pretty strong right now.

Joining in!
Can't wait to read more

I have plenty more to tell. Stay tune!!

I LOVE your trip reports with your beautiful pictures!!! Thanks for sharing! I can't wait for more!

PrincessBelle I love new reader. So glad you can join us.

TOPDOG!

Hey buddy!

It' been a long time!

I'm so excited to see you started your TR! I can't wait to see all of your photos!

Yeah! GreatBiscuit is in the house!!! It has been a long time. I have plenty of stories and plenty of photos to share.

I loved your last trip report!! Can't wait to hear more!!

So glad you made it here.

Well thank goodness you didn't forget your camera! I don't think your DW could have taken that drama again! I don't blame her for not doing laundry on vacation either. I wish I could get away with it!

So... what are we doing next?

I don't know about DW but I think I might as well drive right to the hospital if I forget my camera bag this time. Even our friend who UPS me the bag last trip called that morning to make sure I didn't forget the camera bag.

 

[bucci818]

Yay! Another new PA reader. Yes. I heard the Eagles game was postpone last night. Have a great time at the game. How much snow did you get down that way? Up here at the north, we got barely a couple of inches but the snow drift was nasty. The wind is still pretty strong right now.

Thanks, I have seats in the End Zone, so it should be good ! We got about 5-6 inches of snow. The wind was rough, and kept blowing it around! Looks better out today.

 

[chunkymonkey]

For this trip, I have purchase a new camera just for the occasion. The new camera literally arrived days before the trip.

One more note, thanks to chunkymoney’s inspiration and her help, I was determine to take some self-portrait without any help. It took a lot of trial and error but I manage to get a few decent one.

You're welcome!! Hopefully you got the shots you needed! I'm definitely getting a GF1 or 2. I kind of want to stick with the 1 since I do actually like the manual knob on the outside of the camera, but the GF2 has really high ISO capabilities so I kind of what that.

I can't imagine what new camera you got...full frame Nikon?
So you brought...3 cameras with you not including DW's camera? WOW. I can't even juggle one at times.

And please please let us know which cameras you used in your shots. It would be so helpful to know!

Vacation looks great so far! The drive down looks so nice and peaceful. Can't wait to see more!

 

[topdog]

You're welcome!! Hopefully you got the shots you needed! I'm definitely getting a GF1 or 2. I kind of want to stick with the 1 since I do actually like the manual knob on the outside of the camera, but the GF2 has really high ISO capabilities so I kind of what that.

I wonder when GF2 will be available in U.S. The pricing on GF1 is still fluctuate. I agree about the manual knob. I think the knob is better than electronic menu.

I can't imagine what new camera you got...full frame Nikon?

You are correct my friend. I bought the low end version, D700. The D3 is just way out of my league. Yet, the D700 is still a lot of camera. So much you can adjust. I have a lot to learn with this camera and still learning. Sorry I didn't buy it earlier so I can be a little more familiar with the camera before the trip. Learning curve on the D700 is lot more difficult than I thought. I was way over my head thinking I can wink it at the trip.

So you brought...3 cameras with you not including DW's camera? WOW. I can't even juggle one at times.

Yes. Don't forget to add the video camcorder on the list too. I nickname it "Johnny #5".

And please please let us know which cameras you used in your shots. It would be so helpful to know!

Will do. I re-edit the post and tag a little initial next to each picture so you know which camera is for which shot.

 

[mom of 3 (or 4) boys]

I'm a lurker here, but have come out of lurkdom for your post. I just read your 2009 trip and am looking forward to this trip report.

Just got our first DSLR (Nikon D90) a couple months ago and have had so much fun learning how to use it and learning about photography. I love looking at your pics as well as your sharing what lenses/ISO/shutter/apereture you were working with. I can curb my disney obsession while learning about photography through your TR's!

Even though we were just in Disney this past July, I have this HUGE need to go back with the new camera to experiment.

Keep it rolling!

 

[topdog]

After a long day yesterday and a well rested night, we were able to wake up fairly early the next morning. I decided to treat the entire family who stay over last night to have breakfast. All the little one were happy as a clam when they hear breakfast. So off we go to a local country skillet for breakfast. The little one just thought breakfast is the greatest thing.

D700

D700

After breakfast is over, we stopped at a local Sam’s Club (I am a member) to pickup a tray of water for the trip and plus a few items for Christmas shopping. When that’s over, we have to say goodbye to a few of the family members because they live at different part of North Carolina and it’s 3 hours away.

After saying goodbye, DW and I went to pick up sleigh #2 (The rental.) We drove to this small local airport (Greenville airport). It was under construction. Even the airport is small, it still have all the major car rental companies inside. However, their offices are extremely small. It can barely fit one or two people at each office.

D700

I grew up in NYC and used to much bigger car rental places. This is very unusual to me. There was no one behind the desk. We have to page the person from the phone at the window in order for her to show up. I thought that was pretty amusing but not DW. Within minutes, the girl show up and start looking up for our reservation. After she retrieved our reservation and ask us which vehicle we like to pick. The choices were “Altima”, “Altima” and “Altima”. Well, I guess we’ll pick “Altima”. LOL…

D700

It didn’t take long to finish up the paper work. Soon, we got our transponder (the car has no key to open door or start the engine, just buttons) and we drove both sleighs back to my SIL’s home.

By the time we got back, it’s time for dinner. My SIL who is a native born and raise from NC with a very close knit family. All her 3 brothers, their kids and their kids are all living close by. All she did was calling one brother if him and his DW want to join us for dinner. Next thing you know, the invites spread like wildfire. LOL… Every one wants to see us since we live so far away and don’t visit them that often. We went to a local burger place and end up with more than 25 people show up. Yikes!! We had a great time though. It was a fun gathering and we had a great time.

GF1

GF1

GF1

GF1

After dinner was over, we went back to my SIL’s home and ready for bed because we have another long day tomorrow morning.
Side note, on my last TR, I mention we have a grand niece who has a serious medical condition. She still has a long road ahead of her but she has grown up a lot.

D700

D700

Doctor thought she still has a few more years to go before her motoring skill can be develop. But guess what?? While we were there, she was able to stand up on her own without any help. That was a major achievement consider she’s almost 3 years old.

Once again, we woke up a little after 5am. Shower, dressed and start loading up sleigh #2. Even we left a few bags behind at my SIL since we have to come back after the trip anyway. We still manage to pack sleigh #2 to the maxwith the rear seat fold down. **sighhh** Closing the trunk was a bit challenging. Grrr… I kept mumbling that DW needs to trim a few more bags plus a few other choice of words. LOL… We said goodbye to my SIL. Startup the GPS and Rudolph was guiding sleigh #2 with his bright nose. Again, DW drove first. By time we got on the road, it’s a little after 6am. Not much different than the day before. Sky was dark.

D700

Johnny #5 (Nickname for my video camcorder) is joining us on this leg of the trip as well.

D700

According to the GPS, we have to take a local country route first passing miles and miles of tobacco farm, cotton farm and half collapse barn.

D700

D700

D700

D700

After about 40 miles, we finally get to Fayetteville and hopped on I-95 from there.

D700

D700

It wasn't long before we reach south of the border.

D700

D700

Soon, we crossed the South Carolina border.

D700

It was pretty straight forward driving from that point. We stop for bio break a couple of time but we did not hit any traffic whatsoever. The drive was very pleasant. Some where after we crossed the Georgia state line, DW and I switched driving so no more picture from that point.

We did stop at McDonald for a quick lunch when we reached Jacksonville area. It wasn’t long before we hop on I-4 and the World we go!! We can feel the temperate is already up there. Well…at least to us northerner.

D700

As we came to the Magic Kingdom front gate and told the CM where are we staying. He directed us to take the ramp all the way to the right and follow the sign. I followed his direction and soon we reached the Wilderness Lodge arch and come to the security gate. I gave him my name and he already has my parking pass ready. Very efficient. I like that.

After the security gate, we proceed to the “drop zone” as I called it in front of the WL entrance. The time was 4:30pm. We were close to 11 hours on the road. DW was all hyper and want to jump out of the car before I come to a complete stop. The CM came over with the cart and help me load up all our luggage except my camera bag and my electronic gadget bag. The CM then gave us a ticket to give to the bell services so they can bring our luggage to the room after we check in. Please keep in mind this bell service is all new to me. In 1995, we drove also and stayed at Polynesian resort for 5 days. We didn’t have a whole lot of luggage so they stay with us through out the check in process. Then we flew on the last two trip using Magical Express so our luggage was “Magically” appear when walk into our room.

I gave the luggage ticket to DW so she can go inside the lodge first and I left to park the sleigh. Once the sleigh was parked, I start walking towards the lodge. DW was waiting for me at the front door and start telling me to hurry up because I was moving too slow for her. LOL...

Once we walked pass that familiar Wilderness Lodge floor mat, the lobby just hit me like a truck. This is the third time we stay at WL but our first at Christmas. I already saw many many pictures what the WL lobby look like in Christmas. But picture just can’t do justice to what you can experience standing in front of this gianormous Christmas tree in the middle of the WL lobby. Breathtaking is an understatement.

After a brief moment of ooh and aww, we proceed to the check-in line. It didn’t take long before it’s our turn. We were greeted by a very friendly CM, Jenn. I asked her if I can take a picture of her and she gladly pose for me. This is my very first time I actually ask a CM to pose for me. There were plenty more request like this through out this trip. All of them were happy to pose but some were puzzle why I would want to take their pictures. But every single CM were nice enough to pose for me nonetheless.

Unfortunately, I shoot Jenn’s picture a little too quick, the shot didn’t come out good so I follow up with a few more while she work on our reservation.

D700

I then spotted a familiar face at the next counter. Her name is Amanda.

D700

She’s the CM who help me to looked up and lug the UPS package (camera bag) from the back room for me on our last trip. I didn’t want to interrupt her because she was busy helping other guest. Beside, she might not remember me anyway.

DW made sure to remind Jenn our reservation arrangement. Our first day is an addition tag on to our original 11 days package with courtyard view, DxDP and blah…blah…blah…yadee…yadee…yada... Jenn replied not a problem and that’s what show up on the reservation system. So far so good. Soon we got our KTTW card and we have room 4007. We thank Jenn to check us in and proceed to the bell service which is right next to the check-in area. We gave the CM our luggage ticket and told him our room # and we are going to our room right now. The CM replied the luggage will be up there shortly. So we thought…that's when the fun begins… Stay tune!

Eventhough I couldn’t take any picture while I was driving but Johnny #5 was able to capture some moment for us. Hope you like it. Please be aware this is HD video. Set the video to view at 720HD. It does look pretty good. If you are on dial up, don't try to watch it because it will take forever to download the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea5HbQzHcac

 

[topdog]

I'm a lurker here, but have come out of lurkdom for your post. I just read your 2009 trip and am looking forward to this trip report.

Just got our first DSLR (Nikon D90) a couple months ago and have had so much fun learning how to use it and learning about photography. I love looking at your pics as well as your sharing what lenses/ISO/shutter/apereture you were working with. I can curb my disney obsession while learning about photography through your TR's!

Even though we were just in Disney this past July, I have this HUGE need to go back with the new camera to experiment.

Keep it rolling!

Glad you join us. Lurker is always welcome here especially a Nikon user. D90 is a fine camera.

Please feel free to ask question about my pictures. I'll be more to happy to answer as best as I can.

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

Great Update! Love the video. The music was fabulous!!

You made great time with little traffic.

 

[RDarling]

I am liking your report, I will read the previous one and wait for more on this!!