There's a Giraffe in my Stocking! A Mom/Daughter Christmas trip!

[mousetravel]

Finishing up our day at HS!!



We did a few other things that I didn't get pics of. We went to Fantasmic; and I stood in the Tower of Terror line with DD so she could ride it. I am too chicken. I will not ride that!!

So then we went to check out the Osborne Family Lights. We got over there about 30 minutes before they started the lights, so we just sat on the sidewalk and rested.

This show of lights was AMAZING!! I loved how they told the back story of the Osborne Family. I loved the music and the "snow"!!! So fun!!! I didn't want to leave!!

We went to a few shops:

Then, I wanted to go back and watch the light show some more before we left!

Then a couple more pics on our way out.

Overall, we had a GREAT time at HS: even more than we expected!!!! We usually leave that park out on our trips, but we will definately go back!!




Coming up: Saying Good-Bye to:

And HELLO to:

 

[jenseib]

Love the osborne lights. I can't wait to see them for myself some day!!!!

 

[mousetravel]

On our check out date for ASM, we decided to sleep in a little later than usual. But we got up & ready and packed everything up. We planned to just take our luggage and everything with us instead of having it transferred over to AKL.

I think we finally left right at 11am check out time, and skipped breakfast cause we were anxious to get to AKL!!! I was hesitant about arriving so early because I figured we couldn't check in until 3 or 4pm, but we figured we could tour around the resort for a while. But luckily, they let us check right in when we got there AND they said we could go on into our room!!!!


Arriving!

As I went to check us in, DD took the camera and wandered around (because it was taking a little long!)

There were only a couple of people in front of me, but one group of people were having problems with their tickets or something, so it was taking forever. Then, a CM came up to me, with a laptop on a rolling cart to take care of my reservation! I thought that was sooooo nice!

So here's a few of DD's pics. I don't know why, but some of my pics came out blurry. I guess because it was kinda dark in there, and my camera doesn't do well in low light areas.(I did get some better ones a little later on.)

I asked the CM if she could check and see if there were any reservations available for any of the 3 days we were going to be there. I knew it was last minute and didn't expect to even get anything, but she found one open reservation available for that night at 8:50pm!!!!! So I told her I would take it, since we're "night owls" anyway!!!




While I was still checking in, DD had met a really nice CM outside the entrance and they chatted for a while. So I went out there and told her we were good to go and took their picture.

Coming up: ROOM PICS!!!!!!!!!

 

[Pinkocto]

I can't wait to see where the reservation is for! What a nice CM I love seeing that Jambo House sign

 

[jenseib]

Beautiful. I still haven't even toured AKL yet. I do want to check it out someday.
Where did you get reservations for?

 

[mousetravel]

I can't wait to see where the reservation is for! What a nice CM I love seeing that Jambo House sign

Beautiful. I still haven't even toured AKL yet. I do want to check it out someday.
Where did you get reservations for?

We got a last minute reservation for............. Boma!!! We wanted to go there so bad, but was afraid since we didn't get a ADR, that we would miss out on it. I thought it was a little pricey, though, at a little over $40 each. But it was totally worth it!!!

I will definately go back there when we go back to WDW!!!

 

[mousetravel]

We were ready to check out our room! We had a studio with a savannah view.

I loved the deatails on the bathroom wallpaper!

This was our view from the balcony!

DD wanted to go to our usual first stop, Downtown Disney and also make a trip to the Florida Mall and do a little shopping before we would come back to get ready for Boma!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Your room is just beautiful.

 

[Pinkocto]

The view from your room is great!

I agree, I thought the Boma price tag was high, but it was just so delicious I'd love to eat there again.

I love the cute details by the sink!

 

[mousetravel]

Your room is just beautiful.

The view from your room is great!

I agree, I thought the Boma price tag was high, but it was just so delicious I'd love to eat there again.

I love the cute details by the sink!

I loved the room! I was telling DD how I'd love to be able to "re-create" my own room to look like that! I love the safari type decor!


I'll definately go back to Boma when we return, even though it's a little pricey, compared to other dining at WDW (especially when you can even get a character dining for cheaper!)

 

[LuvEeyore]

I love Boma and try to go every time I go to Disney. It is more costly than a character meal but so much better food!!

 

[mousetravel]

We made a trip to Downtown Disney, but I didn't get any pics on this day. We did go back there later on and I took some pics then!

Then we went to the Mall to do some shopping, where I only took one picture. We loved the M&M's World there, and seen this cute little guy:

We came back to AKL and decided to get dressed and ready for Boma. We came down to the lobby and hang around for a bit because it was still a little early for our ADR, and found Donald & Daisy taking pics!!!

This was so exciting! We could get some holiday character pics right in the lobby!!

I was chatting with the CM while in line, and he said that they were switching out with Chip & Dale every 30 minutes. We didn't get pics with them though, since we were going to Boma.

Now it was time for:

We discovered these YUMMY desserts that I heard so much about on the Dis. I was excited to finally try them.


(Fast forward to our last day, we went back and bought 3 containers of these to take home!!)

Coming up next: A great day at MK!!

 

[jenseib]

You really have me considering renting points. I forget who you went through, was it another Diser? I have been debating this off and on now for a few months....I might have to look further into it.

 

[KatGarcia]

The room is soooo beautiful! I really hope to stay there one day. It's awesome you got a ressie to Boma, I love that place!

 

[mousetravel]

I love Boma and try to go every time I go to Disney. It is more costly than a character meal but so much better food!!

You really have me considering renting points. I forget who you went through, was it another Diser? I have been debating this off and on now for a few months....I might have to look further into it.

I went through a Diser friend that usually doesn't rent out her points, but had some points she wasn't planning to use and she let me rent.

You can go on the DVC threads and there's lots of posts where Dis'ers rent out their points. I would definately rent again! It went so smoothly, maybe because we're friends, but if you rent from someone over on the DVC boards, I think they draw up agreements and paperwork.

The room is soooo beautiful! I really hope to stay there one day. It's awesome you got a ressie to Boma, I love that place!

I think even if I never get to stay there agin, I will definately go back to the restaurant and also "tour" around the resort and check out the animals!!

 

[mousetravel]

We got up bright & early for our day at MK!
(Well, not too early, but definately bright!!)

As we made our way down to the lobby, we decided to stop & get a pic:

Arriving to MK, with not too much traffic,

I couldn't believe how beautiful it was in the daytime: all the Christmas decor and the huge tree!!!

It was almost time for the parade, so DD wanted this candy cane ice cream sandwich thing.

We stayed and watched the Move it, Shake it, Celebrate it Parade. We always liked this one. (here's just a couple of pics)

After the parade, we figured we would get pics with Minnie & Mickey since we were close by.





DD with her "Don't take a picture of me" look!

Mickey peeked out the door as we were waiting.

After we finished up with the pics, I decided to get a good spot early for the parade, so we sat & rested for a bit. DD got bored so she got up & went to the shops nearby.

I decided to get up and stretch a little & strike a pose when she got back!

Coming up next: Christmas Parade!!

 

[jenseib]

I can't wait to see MK decorations myself.....It looks so fun and pretty!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Ahhhh, the pics of the decorations are beautiful! I hope we get to experience them one day!

Love the pic of you striking a pose in front of the castle...way too cute!

And I'm glad that you felt everything went smoothly with the points rental!

 

[mousetravel]

I can't wait to see MK decorations myself.....It looks so fun and pretty!

Ahhhh, the pics of the decorations are beautiful! I hope we get to experience them one day! It was really beautiful!

Love the pic of you striking a pose in front of the castle...way too cute!

. Thanks! I enjoy taking pictures a lot more now since I've been losing weight!

And I'm glad that you felt everything went smoothly with the points rental!
Thanks! Everything went great!!!

 

[mousetravel]

While I loved the parade at night with all the lights and the snow falling, I was really excited to see it in the daytime!!

More parade pics coming up!