Floundering Crab
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2000
Travelers: DH & DW--both 50
December 3âÂÂ(Day 1) Travel Day: Left Syracuse (12ð F) @ 8:30am, great flight, arrived Orlando (72ð F) @ 11:30am. Stopped at the Disney store in the a/p to purchase our Premium Annual passes. Took a bit longer than it should haveâÂÂbelieve CM wasnâÂÂt up to speed on the process. 30 minutes later picked up luggage from Delta baggage handler as they were about to put in pile w/all others that had not been picked up in a timely manner. Picked up car @ Hertz (car trunk open and motor runningâÂÂgotta love being a Gold Car member), stopped for lunch @ ChiliâÂÂs & were on our way. Checked into Shades of Green @ 2:00 pm, room was ready and just what we requested. (As an aside: this is a wonderful hotel that, for the military, is top-notch. The decorations were very classyâÂÂall along the long hallway that led to the guest rooms each staff section decorated a wreath commensurate to their section. The square grapevine wreath wall hangings throughout the hotel were something to behold. Each day, it seemed they kept adding more and more poinsettias everywhere. I am now in the Christmas spirit.) Our room (218) was tucked in far corner of the second floor (main level) overlooking the putting green. At night we had deer grazing on our front lawn & watch raccoons forage. Hallways were very quiet, but we did have some small children upstairs that liked jumping on the beds early in the morning. We could see (and hear) the fireworks at the MK from the balcony. After dinner @Yacht Club Galley (see separate restaurant critiques) w/friends who live in Orlando, we got a cooks tour of Disney (one was a cast member) then turned in for the night to get an early start on Monday morning.
December 4âÂÂ(Day 2) Magic Kingdom: Rousted ourselves up at 6:30 am to get an early start on our first day at WDW. Dressed warmly as it was going to stay pretty cool all day. Took the 5-minute walk over to the Polynesian to have breakfast at Capt Cooks (good tip). Food was okay and fast. I was anxious to get on the monorail and head over to MK. Monorail was fullâÂÂduh, it was MondayâÂÂMK early entry day. DidnâÂÂt matter, we were headed to the happiest place on earth. Activated our brand, spanking new PAPs, picked up our maps, and headed down Main Street. We laughed and joked like teens, dodged the ankle-biter strollers, smelled the baked goods, watched the kidsâ balloons float into the sky, and pretty much grinned for an hour. We quickly headed over toward the BTMR, as itâÂÂs the only âÂÂthrillâ ride the DH will ride, so I was going to get him on it soonest. We then continued around Frontierland and Adventureland. Were two of ten people in the Country Bear Jamboree Christmas show. I love that place and was pleasantly surprised to see the transformation for Christmas. (Still grinning) Rode the Pirates of the Caribbean, rode the refurbished (and a bit hokey) Jungle Cruise, went in the Haunted Castle, saw the American Presidents, etc. all before noon. We hopped onto the RR in Frontierland and rode back to Main Street. Were still a bit early for our lunch PSs @ TonyâÂÂs so roamed Main Street and went over to Tomorrowland to see what we could see. Went right in to the TimekeeperâÂÂstill get a chuckle to see the first-timers reaction to Robin WilliamsâÂÂwalked right into the Alien Adventure, and still had time to see Carousal of Progress. That was a bit disheartening, though. The darn thing was on the blitz so the animaltronics narration guy (who is in each scene) and the dog were not working. He spoke, but no head or hand movements; his head was down and one arm was stuck up in the air mid-movementâÂÂmade him look like he was embarrassed to be there speaking with us. About þ way through, the management stopped the show and had us all leave. . . thank goodness, I was embarrassed. We then headed over to TonyâÂÂs for lunch. On the way we ran into co-workers from our office in upstate NY who we didnâÂÂt know were down there. ItâÂÂs a Small world (no pun intended). Must tell you TonyâÂÂs was a pleasant surprise. Thought IâÂÂd made reservations at the Plaza, but goofed up. Turned out to be fortuitousâÂÂwe so enjoyed our lunch and w/MKCC got a free dessert. We waddled out to the real world an hour and a half later to head back to Tomorrowland. No SM after this lunch, so we jumped on the TTA, then did our Buzz Lightyear FastPass. Speaking of FastPassâÂÂwhat a terrific invention. Good on ya Disney! I beat the snot out of DH on BuzzâÂÂI just kept my thumb clicking away and got the highest score, but IâÂÂll be darned if the silly ride didnâÂÂt shut down and DH (and everyone else around us) maxed their scores out, too. DonâÂÂt quite know what the problem was, but all three times we rode Buzz it would shut down for no particular reason. Even if they were loading or unloading the handicapped, it couldnâÂÂt have taken that long. No matter, I was still on my WDW high. Decided since we were going to Pleasure Island that evening weâÂÂd head back to the room and layer on some clothes (evening was in the 40s). Were still blimped out from TonyâÂÂs, so just snacked a bit & headed over to PIâÂÂme in my scarf and gloves. Got there a bit early so checked out all the shops & were some of the first patrons in The Adventurers Club. Diddled around there until time to head over to Comedy WarehouseâÂÂs first show. TAC started filling up right after we arrived and the cast came out and began the eveningâÂÂadmire their ability to improvise w/so littleâÂÂmust admit we were a pretty boring bunch sitting there. We had front row seats for the CW and really got my husband when they expanded on his most embarrassing moment for the closing sequence. It felt good to laugh. We then left & headed down to Wildhorse Saloon. We found a seat and just listened and watched all the young whipper-snappers dance. Funniest part was watching a group of young men (possibly on a business trip together?) check out the one-way window from the menâÂÂs room. DH told me about the window when he returned from washing his hands and then we just sat there and watched grown men act like idiots. Picked up one of those huge Rice Krispie Treats and we ended our evening about midnight and fell into bedâÂÂtomorrow is Epcot Future World.
December 3âÂÂ(Day 1) Travel Day: Left Syracuse (12ð F) @ 8:30am, great flight, arrived Orlando (72ð F) @ 11:30am. Stopped at the Disney store in the a/p to purchase our Premium Annual passes. Took a bit longer than it should haveâÂÂbelieve CM wasnâÂÂt up to speed on the process. 30 minutes later picked up luggage from Delta baggage handler as they were about to put in pile w/all others that had not been picked up in a timely manner. Picked up car @ Hertz (car trunk open and motor runningâÂÂgotta love being a Gold Car member), stopped for lunch @ ChiliâÂÂs & were on our way. Checked into Shades of Green @ 2:00 pm, room was ready and just what we requested. (As an aside: this is a wonderful hotel that, for the military, is top-notch. The decorations were very classyâÂÂall along the long hallway that led to the guest rooms each staff section decorated a wreath commensurate to their section. The square grapevine wreath wall hangings throughout the hotel were something to behold. Each day, it seemed they kept adding more and more poinsettias everywhere. I am now in the Christmas spirit.) Our room (218) was tucked in far corner of the second floor (main level) overlooking the putting green. At night we had deer grazing on our front lawn & watch raccoons forage. Hallways were very quiet, but we did have some small children upstairs that liked jumping on the beds early in the morning. We could see (and hear) the fireworks at the MK from the balcony. After dinner @Yacht Club Galley (see separate restaurant critiques) w/friends who live in Orlando, we got a cooks tour of Disney (one was a cast member) then turned in for the night to get an early start on Monday morning.
December 4âÂÂ(Day 2) Magic Kingdom: Rousted ourselves up at 6:30 am to get an early start on our first day at WDW. Dressed warmly as it was going to stay pretty cool all day. Took the 5-minute walk over to the Polynesian to have breakfast at Capt Cooks (good tip). Food was okay and fast. I was anxious to get on the monorail and head over to MK. Monorail was fullâÂÂduh, it was MondayâÂÂMK early entry day. DidnâÂÂt matter, we were headed to the happiest place on earth. Activated our brand, spanking new PAPs, picked up our maps, and headed down Main Street. We laughed and joked like teens, dodged the ankle-biter strollers, smelled the baked goods, watched the kidsâ balloons float into the sky, and pretty much grinned for an hour. We quickly headed over toward the BTMR, as itâÂÂs the only âÂÂthrillâ ride the DH will ride, so I was going to get him on it soonest. We then continued around Frontierland and Adventureland. Were two of ten people in the Country Bear Jamboree Christmas show. I love that place and was pleasantly surprised to see the transformation for Christmas. (Still grinning) Rode the Pirates of the Caribbean, rode the refurbished (and a bit hokey) Jungle Cruise, went in the Haunted Castle, saw the American Presidents, etc. all before noon. We hopped onto the RR in Frontierland and rode back to Main Street. Were still a bit early for our lunch PSs @ TonyâÂÂs so roamed Main Street and went over to Tomorrowland to see what we could see. Went right in to the TimekeeperâÂÂstill get a chuckle to see the first-timers reaction to Robin WilliamsâÂÂwalked right into the Alien Adventure, and still had time to see Carousal of Progress. That was a bit disheartening, though. The darn thing was on the blitz so the animaltronics narration guy (who is in each scene) and the dog were not working. He spoke, but no head or hand movements; his head was down and one arm was stuck up in the air mid-movementâÂÂmade him look like he was embarrassed to be there speaking with us. About þ way through, the management stopped the show and had us all leave. . . thank goodness, I was embarrassed. We then headed over to TonyâÂÂs for lunch. On the way we ran into co-workers from our office in upstate NY who we didnâÂÂt know were down there. ItâÂÂs a Small world (no pun intended). Must tell you TonyâÂÂs was a pleasant surprise. Thought IâÂÂd made reservations at the Plaza, but goofed up. Turned out to be fortuitousâÂÂwe so enjoyed our lunch and w/MKCC got a free dessert. We waddled out to the real world an hour and a half later to head back to Tomorrowland. No SM after this lunch, so we jumped on the TTA, then did our Buzz Lightyear FastPass. Speaking of FastPassâÂÂwhat a terrific invention. Good on ya Disney! I beat the snot out of DH on BuzzâÂÂI just kept my thumb clicking away and got the highest score, but IâÂÂll be darned if the silly ride didnâÂÂt shut down and DH (and everyone else around us) maxed their scores out, too. DonâÂÂt quite know what the problem was, but all three times we rode Buzz it would shut down for no particular reason. Even if they were loading or unloading the handicapped, it couldnâÂÂt have taken that long. No matter, I was still on my WDW high. Decided since we were going to Pleasure Island that evening weâÂÂd head back to the room and layer on some clothes (evening was in the 40s). Were still blimped out from TonyâÂÂs, so just snacked a bit & headed over to PIâÂÂme in my scarf and gloves. Got there a bit early so checked out all the shops & were some of the first patrons in The Adventurers Club. Diddled around there until time to head over to Comedy WarehouseâÂÂs first show. TAC started filling up right after we arrived and the cast came out and began the eveningâÂÂadmire their ability to improvise w/so littleâÂÂmust admit we were a pretty boring bunch sitting there. We had front row seats for the CW and really got my husband when they expanded on his most embarrassing moment for the closing sequence. It felt good to laugh. We then left & headed down to Wildhorse Saloon. We found a seat and just listened and watched all the young whipper-snappers dance. Funniest part was watching a group of young men (possibly on a business trip together?) check out the one-way window from the menâÂÂs room. DH told me about the window when he returned from washing his hands and then we just sat there and watched grown men act like idiots. Picked up one of those huge Rice Krispie Treats and we ended our evening about midnight and fell into bedâÂÂtomorrow is Epcot Future World.
