The Disney Grump & Family Take on the World-Our '09 Christmas w/ the Mouse, COMPLETE

Joining in and going back to read :surfweb:

:welcome:

Sorry I've been missing...my computer is being fixed and I have to wait until oldest son is home for me to use his laptop.

Love the latest update. I especially like the kids trying on the hats (if you glance at my TR listed in my signature, you will see that DH LOVES to try on silly hats).

As for your youngest, I promise he will "grow up." At 21, mine still give me days that I want to pull out my hair, but in the last two years, I've seen him grow up a lot (could have something to do with him losing his grandpa last year who practically lived with us for all of youngest son's life). But it does get better...and they certainly don't let you have a "boring" day in the process. Hang in there. :)

Sorry your computer is on the fritz - I hate it when that happens. Mine was 'in the shop' for several days a few months ago and I was having major withdrawls! :laughing:

I'll have to check out your TR - I love silly hat pics too!

I remember Don didn't really grow up until he was about 23-24, so I've got a few years to wait! But in the meantime he does keep me entertained to say the least :thumbsup2

Very nice so far. I'm in. popcorn::

Thanks & welcome!

Omigod, Wigd, did you read this? Do you think you could make this happen once? :cool1::rotfl2::rotfl::dance3:

:lmao: Trust me, it doesn't happen often!

GREAT updates!!! Those beignets look yummy!! I instantly thought of The Princess and the Frog when you mentioned them. I'm not one to ride Mission Space either--DH has to ride that one alone--not my cup of tea! Can't wait to hear more!! :goodvibes

I soooo want to see The Princess and the Frog, but noone will go with me :sad2: and I hate to go to movies alone. I'm seriously considering a drive up to Wichita to have Wigd go with me :lmao:

Uggg, I can't stand Mission:Space. I've only ridden the wimpy side too and I still felt awful afterwards!

:eek: Well, it was the first day of the trip! You had plenty of time to get your shopping groove on!

Don was so proud! :laughing: Really I think it was just because I was tired from getting up so early in the morning. The store was SUPER crowded and all those people were making me cranky - I just needed to chill for a bit.

This is a great picture of the monorail and SSE!

Thanks! I sat over by Universe of Energy for a bit and waited for one to come by.
 
Hummmm, where are you going to eat??? I am guessing Germany! Don't have any rational for that guess, just a guess! :goodvibes Looks like you had a good weather day in Epcot. :thumbsup2

Hmmm, Germany - maybe, maybe not!

The weather that day was pretty nice, it was chilly if you were in the shade, but felt great in the sun!

I would like to report & I might, but I work from home and my time is going to start getting less & less so I don't know if I will be able to!! I could report, but the hard part would be responding to everyones posts & that's 1/2 the fun! :) We'll see...I am already addicted so I might not have a choice!! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Well, if you decide to write one let me know, I'll read along. Yep, responding to the posts is fun - that's how you really get to know people. Not to mention you get to relive the trip with the report!

Loved the Mickey cookies!!! (Betty Crocker approves ;))

Yeah, but yours would have had Mickey's entire face painted onto them.... :rolleyes:

And 50 minutes for Mission Space????????????? :faint: I am so glad we do our Christmas trips early!!! But HOORAY for scoring Soarin' and TT FP's!!!

I KNOW!! I couldn't believe it when it changed from 30 to 50 minutes! I sent Don a text that their wait could be longer than they had anticipated, but the boys wanted to stay in line.

Loved your Epcot update. I love Epcot. Ok, I love all Disney. But there is something about Epcot that has it all for me. Visiting other countries, seeing our own. The rides. Oh yes, the rides. Love them all. Your boys are so cute. It is a hard age. Wanting to be older but not being able to resist doing silly things still.

Ginny

I love Epcot too, it might be my favorite park, then again nothing can beat the magic of MK, and AK does house my favorite ride and show......guess I love all of Disney too! :laughing:

Haha, it was so cute how you said that the "sighs started" and you had to put your camera way. My family probably didn't understand why I wanted to take so many pictures of things when they're not in the pics themselves, but I think they're getting used to it. The other day I was joking with DBF about how he's going to be taking a million pictures, and I'll be dragging him and saying, "We haven't even been on the ride yet!" Haha, he said he'd be finishing his memory card before then. So hopefully we get a ton of pics when we're there in April. It helps with reliving the magic once you get home! Don't they understand?!?

I've never been upstairs to see the aquariums either! I'm so excited to go! I've seen pictures of manatees and the hidden Mickey rocks in the water. I really want to see it for myself.

I think Sum of All Thrills is so cool! It's such a great idea! Of course, I'm not into thrill rides, so I would make mine very simple, and I don't know if there would be a point in waiting for that! Haha. How did that work? I've seen the videos of it, but are there a bunch of stations to design your ride or just two? I'm curious to know if you have to wait for people to design AND ride or if they take whoever is finished designing first.

Looking forward to more as usual! I like your trip report style. Pictures along with the details and commentary!

I love taking pictures, but it drives my family nuts to have to stop all the time for me to take a photo - oh well, they love the pictures after the fact!

I had to ask Don about Sum of all Thrills since I didn't get a chance to ride it myself. He said there were stations (he couldn't remember if it was 3 or 4) where you designed your ride. You could make it a bobsled, rollercoaster or jet. Once you finished designing the ride they gave you a card with your design on it, you took the card upstairs and waited in another line for a ride vehicle to open up (again, there were 3 or 4 of them). Hope that helps!

I keep meaning to head over and check out your PTR - it's on my list, I just haven't made it over there yet! When in April are you going?
 


What a great start to your trip! You sound so happy describing it!! Your boys are so handsome! We didn't get to do the simulator, that looked like great fun! WELL for boys not for me! I can't handle the inversions and all that -- hence I am right there with you about Mission Space! GASP!!! NO thankyou!

Lets see dinner.. so I am guessing World Showcase!
 
I did manage to snap one shot before the sighs started and I had to put the camera away.

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Cool that you got this one shot........it's a GREAT one! :thumbsup2 You mentioned you're using a new camera now? What kind did you get?



Up Next: It's almost dinner time - where would we go???


Can't wait to find out.........there are SO MANY good restaurants in Epcot! :goodvibes
 


:yay: Hi Michelle! I finally made it over! I wish I could get half as motivated as you to do a TR. Once the trip is over I just can't find the determination to do anything.:headache: I'm loving your's though so keep it coming!
 
Great update! I really wanted to do Sum of All Thrills, but we didn't make time for it.

Well apparently it's worth making time for, Don & Justin had a great time with it. The good thing about missing out on something is though that it gives you an excuse to go back! :thumbsup2

:lmao:

Not when there are Statue of Liberty Minnie Mouses for 70% off...

You know, sometimes money is just SCREAMING to be spent! :laughing:

What a great start to your trip! You sound so happy describing it!! Your boys are so handsome! We didn't get to do the simulator, that looked like great fun! WELL for boys not for me! I can't handle the inversions and all that -- hence I am right there with you about Mission Space! GASP!!! NO thankyou!

Lets see dinner.. so I am guessing World Showcase!

The simulator ride has a bobsled one that doesn't go upside down at all! That's the one I would have chosen...

Cool that you got this one shot........it's a GREAT one! :thumbsup2 You mentioned you're using a new camera now? What kind did you get?

I got a Cannon Rebel xsi, it's a DSLR and WAY more camera than I know how to use. I've always just had a point and shoot. I need to take a class to learn how to use this one, I just haven't had a chance to do that yet!


I'll be getting another update up soon :thumbsup2

:yay: Hi Michelle! I finally made it over! I wish I could get half as motivated as you to do a TR. Once the trip is over I just can't find the determination to do anything.:headache: I'm loving your's though so keep it coming!

Hey there Marna!! Glad you came over. You really should do a TR, it's a great way to drag out your trip just a bit longer. I'll have the rest of day 1 up today, but I may have to stall a bit before I start day 2, I'm waiting for my photopass CD to arrive!
 
By now we were getting close to our dinner ADR time, so we started in the direction of World Showcase. We stopped by the poinsettia trees for some pictures; I think these are so pretty!

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And took one of the massive tree

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Then walked into Mexico. I've never noticed this little boat thing down there, but I think it's cute.

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The Three Kings were coming out just as we got there so stopped to watch their story.

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As soon as I snapped this pic

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I put the camera away and we booked it over to Italy for our dinner at Tutto Italia. We had to wait about 5 minutes for our table, not bad at all. We ordered drinks, I had an Italian Margarita and Don had a glass of wine. For dinner I got the Lobster Ravioli, I didn’t remember it being on the menu last time we were here, it was very good. Don got the Spicy Linguini, Justin had Lasagna and Jared had fried cheese for his appy and pasta in a cream sauce for his entrée. Everyone liked their selections – no complaints here. For dessert, I had the Chocolate Torte, Justin had the Chocolate Mousse from the kids menu, and Jared got Chocolate Gelato. Don skipped dessert. :sad2: We all really enjoyed this meal. I know some people have said that they felt rushed here, but we didn’t experience that all. We were served quickly, but I never got the feeling that we were being pushed through our meal.

After dinner the boys wanted to hit up the two WS rides, and then use our FPs. As we passed Germany Don stopped to get a glass of hot Gluwein, he had seen many people enjoying it and had to give it a try. He said it was alright, too sweet for him. I took a little sip and didn’t care for it, but I’m not much of a wine drinker.

We hit up Maelstrom first and had to wait for what seemed like an eternity to enter the theater at the end. That’s the one thing that keeps me from enjoying this ride, I wish there was another way out! After that we took the Grand Fiesta Tour with Donald Duck, took this picture of the tree all lit up on our way back into FW

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We used our FPs for Test Track and Soarin’ and headed for the gates. We were all beat – 4am had been a long time ago! Thankfully, our luck with the buses continued on this night because just as we were walking up to the stop a bus pulled in.

When we got back to the hotel we stopped at the concierge desk to pick up the box of decorations that we had shipped down and then we headed to the room where the boys had a little surprise waiting for them.

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Here’s a pic of what was inside their baskets:

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Christmas Mickey ears, a refillable resort mug, a Christmas pin, a pressed penny book and a $10 arcade card. They were pretty excited about their new loot. Justin even modeled his ears for me. :goodvibes

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After the gifts had been opened, Don called bell services to have them bring over our grocery order, and then we all got ready for bed. Before bed though, I had to at least unpack my suitcase – I HATE living out of a suitcase, and tired as I was, I wasn’t about to go to bed and have to dig through my suitcase to find everything the next morning. So, I put my things away, while the boys began to snore. It didn’t take too long and I was snoring right along with them.

 
The Christmas tree is huge at Epcot!!! :eek:

Tutto Italia is one of our new favorites! Loved our meal there, and you are right, we didn't feel rushed at all.

I can't wait to plan a Christmas trip -- I hope they still have the Three Kings there when we go in a couple of years.

Who did you order the baskets from or did you do them yourself? They are so cute!
 
I always love that little boat over by Mexico too.

I don't mind watching the Norway film, but it really needs to be updated. My last trip we were getting a good laugh out of the clothing.
 
GREAT update!! The food at Tutto Italia sounds delicious!! And I just love the huge Christmas tree!! WOW! The boys goodie baskets are too cute!! I bet they were thrilled when they saw the goodies!!
 
The tree is awesome! I watched the HGTV special about Disney at Christmas and how the trees are put up and such. I know it is coming, but how do you have Santa at WDW?? Would love to go there or anywhere it snows for Christmas, but I didn't know if Santa could find us??:santa:
 
Sounds like a fun first day! Can't wait for more!:goodvibes

It was a pretty good day! I'm going to hold off a bit before I start day 2, I'm waiting for my photopass CD to get here. It shipped on Monday so it shouldn't be too long.

The Christmas tree is huge at Epcot!!! :eek:

So many of the trees were huge like that! I can't imagine putting those things together.

Tutto Italia is one of our new favorites! Loved our meal there, and you are right, we didn't feel rushed at all.

I liked it so much that I cancelled another ADR that I had made for May and replaced it with Tutto :thumbsup2

Who did you order the baskets from or did you do them yourself? They are so cute!

I got the baskets from Memories by Betsy. She was great to work with. She'll put whatever you want in the baskets except food items, Florida law prevents her from doing that. Then she delivered them to the resort the morning of our arrival and the hotel staff put them in the room while we were gone.

I always love that little boat over by Mexico too.

I don't mind watching the Norway film, but it really needs to be updated. My last trip we were getting a good laugh out of the clothing.

I've never stayed for the film :sad2: Maybe this May when it's just mom & I and we don't have kids dragging us to the next thing on the list ;)

GREAT update!! The food at Tutto Italia sounds delicious!! And I just love the huge Christmas tree!! WOW! The boys goodie baskets are too cute!! I bet they were thrilled when they saw the goodies!!

They were excited. Can you guess what their favorite thing was? The arcade card! They couldn't wait to use it.

The tree is awesome! I watched the HGTV special about Disney at Christmas and how the trees are put up and such. I know it is coming, but how do you have Santa at WDW?? Would love to go there or anywhere it snows for Christmas, but I didn't know if Santa could find us??:santa:

I saw that HGTV special too, pretty impressive operation isn't it?

I struggled a bit with how to do Santa, but finally decided that doing it in a hotel room was just not feasible. I didn't want to ship all the gifts there and back, where would we put them before Christmas, etc. We finally told the boys that it was a logistics nightmare for Santa to have to find kids in their hotel rooms, he only delivers to your home. (Of course, my kids are older too) Santa delivered our gifts at home while we were in WDW and they were waiting for us when we returned. :thumbsup2
 
What a wonderful first day. The food sounds totally great. I think I could have eaten all of your choices. They sounded really good.

Your surprises for the boys are so cute. It's so fun when such little things can make them so happy. Love the Santa ears.
 
Finally made it over here and now am all caught up.

Loved the pics of Port Orleans. I'm thinking we may stay there on our next trip. (if I can ever figure out when that would be).
 
I'm here, but haven't read yet - just wanted to get it added to my subscriptions and say HELLO! :goodvibes I will catch up ASAP.
 
Love the pics of your family at Epcot and how clear they turned out! I really regret our Epcot day - we did not get there till late and I wish we had gone back for a second time but alas...it will have to wait till later!:cool1:
 

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