4 + 1 = happy memories? I hope so! NEW: Final thoughts!

[Liz]

Wow! That was an awesome compromise by the person at the exit booth!

I know! And I'm so stupid when he was explaining what he wanted to do I said "no, I don't want to do that, we'll just fill the car up before we bring it back." I thought he was trying to sell us that pre-paid fuel program. My husband had to tell me what he wanted to do for us!

 

[Liz]

Checkin in! Can't wait to hear more!
-mary

Thanks for sticking with me Mary! More to come soon!

 

[Liz]

I'm curious what time your wake up call was for! I hope not too early

Can't wait to read more!

You'll find out real soon about our wake up call! Stay tuned!

Do you know how to do that multiple quote thing? I used to know how but I've forgotten!

 

[Liz]

Our wake up call was scheduled for 7:00 AM. The only problem was it never came in either room! Very odd! Not surprisingly I was already awake and got everyone moving which was not an easy thing to do because we had a BAD night. Paul snored loud enough to wake the folks sleeping in Cinderella's castle. He does that when he’s really tired but at least at home I can find refuge in another room. We semi-attacked him when he said he "didn't sleep well". Jeff also had a real hard time sharing a double bed.

When everyone was presentable and almost ready to head out, I called Luggage Assistance and asked what we needed to do to have our belongings moved to Wilderness Lodge. They said we should bring our luggage to the front of the resort and they would take care of it. I liked the instructions I received at the front desk the night before much better when they said Luggage Assistance would come to the room to get it.

We had a LOT of luggage between the five of us. I was down at the car with Jeff and Kelsee putting our carry-ons in the trunk and Paul came out to the landing to ask if we were ready to bring everything else down. I asked him to call Luggage Assistance again to see if there was any way they could come get the rest of our stuff. He called and told them we had bags that needed to be moved to the "Fort Wilderness Lodge". They said they would pick them up so we left the bags with a tip. I also left a note when I got back upstairs and learned there was a chance our bags might be headed for Fort Wilderness.

We hurried as fast as we could and were ready to leave the resort by 8:30, just 30 minutes behind schedule. Since we were running late we decided not to take the time to walk around and take pictures, which I kind of regret now but at the time seemed like the right thing to do. We did get these pictures outside the doors to our rooms:

We drove to the Wilderness Lodge with a slight detour. We went through the Magic Kingdom entrance but weren't able to get over to the far right lane so we had to circle around and go back through the entrance plaza again. Seems like we made that same mistake last year when we stayed at the Ft. Wilderness cabins. We went through the same toll plaza our second time and stupidly I said “hi, it's me again” and started to explain why we were passing by twice in a matter of minutes. The CM had probably seen 100 cars in the time it took us to circle back around and must have been thinking “lady, I have no idea who you are nor do I care!” As soon as I said “Wilderness Lodge” he said “far right lane” and motioned us on.

We finally made it to the beautiful Lodge! We had been there to eat twice before but this was our first time as guests. In the process of checking in, I told the CM I did not want charging privileges on our account. Perhaps I misunderstood but I believe the CM told me if we didn't have charging privileges we couldn't have express check out.

“Does this mean the morning we leave I need to come to the front desk to check out?"

She said yes. I thought that was unusual but said okay.

While I was waiting for our CM to finish typing away at her computer, I overheard the guest on my right having a conversation with what appeared to be a supervisor. The guest stated his room was paid in full before they ever checked in and he couldn't understand why charges for the amount of his hotel room were being added to his account each night. Hearing his side of the story I didn't understand why he was receiving the charges either. I'll have to say from my point of view it seemed like the supervisor didn't handle the matter very well. He talked down to the guest and said something about it being like a savings plan. I didn't get to hear how it came out but was left with the overall impression that the supervisor could have been nicer.

We had a courtyard view and Kelsee had a standard view. I was hoping we would be blessed with some Disney magic and Kelsee would be upgraded to courtyard too. Sadly it was not meant to be. The CM said they placed us as close together as possible. We were both on the 4th floor north wing, our room being 4023 and Kelsee's was 4044.

Jeff came up to the counter and asked where we might find Humphrey. The CM next to ours wasn't busy and she indicated she didn't know what he was talking about. Our CM explained to her co-worker that Humphrey was the bear on the bottom of the totem pole and people rubbed his nose for good luck or something. She said his nose had been rubbed so many times that they had to repaint it. And she told Jeff it was outside the Mercantile.

Before we were finished at the counter I asked if there were any openings for flag family during our stay. She checked and said the earliest available was the 23rd. We were still going to be at Disney on the 23rd but moving to Pop Century on the 22nd. Rats! I hate split stays!

Our rooms weren't ready so we left our carry-ons with the valet staff and hurried for the boat dock to the Magic Kingdom. As we were making our way along the boardwalk we heard a boat horn so we hurried faster. Once we got there we found it to be the blue flag boat instead of the red which we wanted. Recently they changed the boat routes and this new red line would take us directly to and from the Magic Kingdom without having to stop at Ft. Wilderness! Nice!

On the boat to MK, I asked Jeff where his camera was. Both Laura and Jeff got new digital cameras for Christmas (we had our Christmas on the 14th, the day before departing for Florida). I knew Laura had hers but hadn't seen Jeff with his. He said it was in his backpack (that we had just left with the valet at WL). I gently chastised him and said that wasn't a good idea because it could be stolen. I am a worrier and knew I needed to put some serious effort into not letting this ruin my day and said a prayer that the people who were handling our luggage were honest. The camera wasn't hundreds of dollars but it was expensive enough that I would be SICK if we got back and it was gone.

Laura's photos from the boat:

Next: Our day in the most Magical Kingdom of all!

 

[carissanboys]

You'll find out real soon about our wake up call! Stay tuned!

Do you know how to do that multiple quote thing? I used to know how but I've forgotten!

Under each person's response is a "+ symbol. Click on that for each person you want to reply to. Then when you hit reply, all of the quotes will show up. I just learned how to do it fairly recently

 

[carissanboys]

Jeff and Kelsee make such a cute couple

I completely understand your problem with getting over to the right lane at the entrance!! We stayed at SOG last time and the same thing happened to us the first (and perhaps 2nd and 3rd ) time we tried to go through. I felt like we kept going in circles! Well, that's probably because we were

Bring on the MK!

 

[klj27]

Our wake up call didn't come on our first day either! Can't wait to read more.

 

[Liz]

Under each person's response is a "+ symbol. Click on that for each person you want to reply to. Then when you hit reply, all of the quotes will show up. I just learned how to do it fairly recently

Yea! It worked! Thanks!!

Jeff and Kelsee make such a cute couple

I completely understand your problem with getting over to the right lane at the entrance!! We stayed at SOG last time and the same thing happened to us the first (and perhaps 2nd and 3rd ) time we tried to go through. I felt like we kept going in circles! Well, that's probably because we were

I think they are pretty adorable too!

I'm glad we aren't the only ones who had troubles with that far right lane!

Our wake up call didn't come on our first day either!

What's up with that?! I know we did it right because the rest of our trip we got our wake up calls just fine! Weird! Thanks for reading!!

 

[Liz]

December 16

Entering the Magic Kingdom was wonderful and the weather was perfect!

I was expecting heavier than normal crowds based on DIS reports but it didn't seem crowded at all.

There was lots of this going on:

We basically threw the itinerary out the window (gasp!) and headed for Tomorrowland.

We stopped at the first thing we came to, the Laugh Factory, and went inside. Jeff sent in a couple of text jokes and soon we were able to enter the theater. This would be fun! During the show they came to speak to Jeff. They asked where he was from and he said "Salt Lake City, Utah". The monsters said “the funny thing about Salt Lake is there actually isn't any salt or a lake but it is the home of the Eiffel Tower!”

Later in the show they read two of the jokes Jeff sent in via text! It was lots of laughs!

From there we went on Buzz . . . .

. . . and the People Mover. You know its not a crowded day at the Magic Kingdom when your third ride of the day is the People Mover! By that I mean we weren't feeling the need to rush to the next attraction as quickly as we could. Paul and I were in one car followed by the “kids”.

I had to smile and remind Paul that “Zzub likes that part” when we heard the page for “Tom Morrow!”

Everyone went on Space Mountain but me. I looked around the gift shop at the end of the ride then sat down to wait. A cast member came over to ask me some survey questions which, in my opinion, need to be tweaked a bit. For instance I was asked if I went in the arcade.

No, I replied.

The next question was "please rate the friendliness of the arcade staff".

Um, I didn't go in the arcade.

When it became obvious that wasn't an acceptable answer I gave them a good rating and hoped they deserved it.

After we all were back together Jeff said Kelsee loves the Tea Cups so we went to take a spin!

Only to find disappointment in that it was C-L-O-S-E-D. Darn.

Well Fantasyland beckoned so we rode Pooh with its catchy little tune of "Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh, la la la la la la la la stuffed with fluff he's Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh, silly nilly willy old bear!" After the ride Kelsee was singing the Pooh song with all the words and all the verses! I already knew this was a jewel of a girl but this just proved it!

We rode Snow White, Peter Pan and Small World.

We were hungry at this point and Pinocchio's Village House was convenient. I believe everyone got pizza (really good or else we were really hungry) except Paul who got a cheese steak sandwich.

From there we went in the newly renovated Haunted Mansion and then Jeff and Kelsee went over to Tom Sawyer's Island for awhile. I can't remember why the rest of us didn't feel like going over there but we took the opportunity to use the bathroom and relax.

Paul and Laura went on Splash Mountain.

Can you spot Jeff & Kels coming back from the Island? Its our own version of "Where's Waldo"! Clue: Kels has a Santa hat on!

When Jeff and Kelsee got back from the island we all rode Big Thunder Mountain. Jeff, Kels and Paul rode Splash. Laura didn't feel like going on it again so we planned out where to go next.

We debated watching the afternoon parade but decided instead to head over to Pirates and then watch the Tutorial. It wasn't my favorite Capt. Jack but he did a good job. He just wasn't the one who was a dead ringer for Johnny Depp.

During the tutorial in the part where they have the kids say "there's the governor's daughter!” one kid yelled "there's the president's daughter!" It was so funny, especially the reaction of Capt. Jack and his mate.

We took a ride on the Jungle Cruise . . . .

. . . . then stopped to use our first snack credits on the fabulously wonderful Dole Whip. What I wouldn't do to have one of those right now!

Jeff and Kels went over to say hi to Rafiki.

We thought of what we could do till time for the castle lighting ceremony and decided to go back to Fantasyland to see Mickeys Philharmagic. On the way we ran into these “lovely” ladies!

As we were leaving them, one of the girls told Jeff to "bring a ring next time!" When he indicated by pointing to Kelsee that he was "taken" they were disgusted!

After Philharmagic we found a place in front of the castle right next to the statue of Minnie to wait for the lighting ceremony and WISHES.

Laura and I held our places while Jeff and Kels went shopping and Paul wandered. While we were waiting I was approached by a lady who asked "so what boards do you hang out on?" A DISER!!!!!!! She had seen my lime green Mickey head on my backpack! I was thrilled! It was "UP Disney" (which stands for Upper Peninsula). We talked about their stay and ours, we met her husband and she met our family when they returned. It was like running into a friend you didn't know you had!

The castle lighting was AMAZING!

We had seen video of it but in person it was just fantastic! After the lighting ceremony my DIS friend left to do other things while we waited for Wishes! Wishes is one of the things before we left home that I was really looking forward to. Sometimes things get built up in your mind that they are going to be a certain way and occasionally it actually lives up to your dream! In my pre-WDW mind I imagined us all standing there watching Wishes side by side, perhaps even arm in arm (corny I know but its my dream so I can make it as corny as I'd like)!

Well my dream was partially coming true because we were all together (which is all that really mattered) until a giant of a man came to stand about three feet in front of me with his tiny wife. Unfortunately I'm not referring to his character when I say he was a giant of a man. He truly was a big guy, like 6' 5". He wasn't in front of me enough that I could say "hey you can't stand there" (not that I would be brave enough to say that in a million years) but he was clearly in my way, especially when he raised his arms to take pictures (one right after another).

So the reality of my Wishes dream consisted of my family all standing 3-4 feet behind me while I moved up to stand beside Mr. Giant so I could see and take pictures of my own. He so easily could have stood behind his wife. Irritates me even now. When I got up beside him I said in a loud voice "CAN YOU SEE LAURA??" She said yes because he wasn't in front of her but that was about as brave as I got when it came to standing up for myself. Wishes was still amazing but I was glad we would have another opportunity to see it later in the week. Or so I thought.

Stay tuned for part 2 below!

 

[Liz]

Enjoying the show:

Here's a beautiful picture Laura took of the castle and fireworks!

As soon as the fireworks ended we did the theme park shuffle out of the park.

Mickey's Christmas Party was starting and we didn't have tickets. In one of my original drafts of our itinerary I had us going to the party but we ended up needing to cut a few corners financially so we nixed the party, didn't have hopper passes, did the split stays (did I mention I hate split stays), etc.

One of the best things about staying at WL is the easy boat transportation to and from MK. Its incredibly convenient to exit the park and walk straight to the boat dock. While we were waiting for our boat to come, I mentioned how anxious I was to get back to the Lodge and make sure Jeff's camera was still there. Kels said she left some valuables in her unlocked luggage too - her laptop for instance!!! I was so glad I didn't know this till we were almost back to the Lodge because I would have had a hard time not worrying about that all day.

Waiting for the boat we were all cold and tired. We'd had a long but extremely fun day. I dreaded the thought of having to go back to the Lodge, get our luggage delivered and settle in to our room. It would have been so nice to stay in one place and have all that done the night before.

When we arrived back at the Lodge we went straight to the 4th floor, stopping first at Kelsee's door. Her key wouldn't work after multiple attempts. We sent Jeff and Kelsee back down to the front desk to see what the problem was. Paul, Laura and I went to our room (4023) and were so impressed with what we saw. I immediately went to see our view and loved it! My only request on our reservation was a view of Silver Creek Springs pool (or is it Silver Springs Creek pool, I can never remember). I didn't want to make a lot of requests because I wanted to make it as easy as possible for our room to be close to Kelsees. When I made the request I did the reservations CM told me ALL courtyard rooms had a view of the main pool. I told her that was not correct and some courtyard rooms had a view of the villa pool.

Mousekeeping had left this for us:

Jeff came back to our room and reported Kelsee was originally supposed to have a different room but was moved at the last minute so that's why her keys didn't work. She was now in her room and settling in.

We called to have our luggage brought up and good news - they had everything from All Star Music and it didn't end up at Fort Wilderness! They also brought up the stuff we had left with Valet and my heart pounded until we saw that Jeff's camera and Kelsee's laptop were safe. You'd like to think that nothing is ever taken at Disney but we all know that it can happen.

We had dinner ADR's at Whispering Canyon Cafe. We had only eaten breakfast here in the past and I wasn't real impressed with their dinner menu but we knew it would be fun and it sure fit the bill for convenience.

We checked in a bit early and told them we were happy to wait. A musical group was performing in the lobby of the Lodge so we enjoyed hearing them sing and looked at the menu. We weren't sitting for more than five minutes when we were called. As we were taken to our table we were told they had to be quiet and not have the usual loud "fun" until the lobby performers were done for the evening. I was a little disappointed but we were tired so having the fun toned down a little worked for us.

This was our first time ever on the dining plan. I had carefully planned our TS meals and there were two instances when we would need to share entrees and tonight was one of them. Jeff and Kelsee would share, Laura and I shared and Paul had his own meal. We were seated about 7:50 and at 8:00 the performances must have ended because the whooping and hollering started with wild abandon! The kids had pony races, a neighboring diner had to ride a stick horse around the lobby for making fun of his wife, we twirled our napkins and had an okay meal. The food wasn't great and I wouldn't go here again for dinner but it was sure nice being able to just go up to our rooms afterward and get ready for bed!

We'd had a LONG but extremely fun day!!!

Best part of the day: Almost everything!

Worst part of the day: Finding out Kelsee's room couldn't be next to ours.

 

[carissanboys]

What a great report so far Liz!! And those are amazing pictures!! You must have a nice camera

That's so great that the crowds were low. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for our trip. And how neat that you got to meet a DISer!

 

[klj27]

I can't believe that you didn't have big crowds! How fabulous!!

 

[winkers]

Liz! I'm so glad I found your report! I haven't "seen" you in awhile!

I have to say I love the song to IASW!

 

[Liz]

What a great report so far Liz!! And those are amazing pictures!! You must have a nice camera

That's so great that the crowds were low. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for our trip. And how neat that you got to meet a DISer!

Glad you are enjoying our adventures! The pics are a combination of mine and Laura's. My camera is just a little Kodak and Laura's is the camera she got for Christmas which is a Canon PowerShot A560. I want one like hers now!

I can't believe that you didn't have big crowds! How fabulous!!

It was wonderful! It got busier later in the day as people arrived for the Christmas party but all day long it was perfect!

Liz! I'm so glad I found your report! I haven't "seen" you in awhile!

I have to say I love the song to IASW!

Hi Cherie! I've still been reading your TR at work where its hard for me to respond! I thought of you more than once on this trip, although I will say we didn't have dental problems. Betcha wonder why I would think of you then? Stay tuned!

Glad you liked the song! It was pretty funny!

 

[TheDISneyFamily]

Entering the Magic Kingdom was wonderful and the weather was perfect!

I just love this picture! You all look so happy! Liz, I'm really enjoying your TR and I can't wait to read more! I'm interested to see how well it went taking Kelsee along, because we just asked my son's girlfriend to go with us on our next vacation!

Hope your new year is off to a great start!
Take care,
Michelle

 

[Liz]

I just love this picture! You all look so happy! Liz, I'm really enjoying your TR and I can't wait to read more! I'm interested to see how well it went taking Kelsee along, because we just asked my son's girlfriend to go with us on our next vacation!

Hope your new year is off to a great start!
Take care,
Michelle

Hi Michelle! Having Kelsee along really had no negatives at all! I think it depends on the individual but what better place to see how the girlfriend fits in with your family?!!

 

[Liz]

December 17

Our view in the early morning light:

Kelsee's view:

To the left:

To the right:

I forgot to mention when we were unpacking and getting ready for bed the night before I couldn't find my toothbrush or a huge bottle of conditioner I brought from home. I guess in our haste to leave All Star Music and get to Wilderness Lodge we didn't check the bathroom very well. Paul went downstairs to buy me a toothbrush. I told him some places have those sort of things complimentary if a guest forgets theirs but he just bought one figuring a toothbrush wouldn't be that expensive ($2.50). As for conditioner, we just shared the small complimentary bottles Mousekeeping brought each day. Losing my conditioner, buying a new toothbrush, paying tips to have our luggage taken to WL and delivered to our room once we got there - - kinda seems like the savings of staying at a Value for the night got a little bit diminished, not to mention the inconvenience. Guess I mentioned I'm not fond of split stays, huh? Well you never know till you give it a try. Oh yeah, and I found my toothbrush in a random pocket of our luggage – when we got home!

Bright and early we were up at 7 AM. This time the wake up call worked! Laura and I were the first ready so we went down to the lobby to wait for the others. The Lodge is so beautiful, especially at Christmas!

Today was one of our two Epcot days. Epcot is my favorite park and I was excited to go! It was a brisk Florida morning and the forecast indicated it would be that way all day and get even colder as the day turned to night. We drove to the park instead of taking Disney transportation so we could leave all our warm clothes and blankets in the trunk and go get them before it got dark. Originally our Segway tour was scheduled for today. I was glad I had rescheduled it because it would have been a chilly morning for that!

A few granola bars in hand for breakfast, we all got in the car and I said "everyone got their passes?" Laura looked for hers and in a panic said she thought she left it in the room. Thankfully we figured it out before getting all the way to Epcot. Paul went upstairs with her and a few minutes later they called down to the car and said they couldn't find it. We were tearing apart the car to make sure it hadn't fallen out of her purse there. I ran upstairs to help them look and when we couldn't find it we went back to the car. I figured we'd just have to buy her another one. No big deal, wasn't going to ruin our day, its only money, right? Then Laura had an inspiration. She remembered she put it in her camera bag, not her wallet! Hooray! Pass found! It was with her the whole time! We were on our way! If Laura is forgetful she gets it from me. That's something I probably would have done too!

I had planned for us to spend most of the day touring World Showcase and our second Epcot day would have us mostly staying in Future World. Since it was so cold I did a switcheroo on the itinerary and decided we should do Future World today since the attractions are mainly indoors. It worked well!

We were excited to see Spaceship Earth open so that was our first stop. The changes to the ride were nice, although I was not fond of the animation at the end on the touch screens. There were a couple of fun games at the exit which we watched for a few minutes. I tried to guide us along since we had a bit of a late start and figured we'd come back to those games later if we had time.

From there we helped find Nemo as we rode along in our clam shells then walked around viewing the fish and other exhibits. We especially enjoyed watching the manatees having their morning meal.

We were able to get into Turtle Talk at the last minute just before they shut the doors. He's such a cool dude!

Listen to the Land was our next stop (I love this one)! We needed to have an early lunch since our dinner reservation was early. I'd heard good things about "Seasons" in the Land so we decided to have lunch there. Lots of choices! Can't remember what everybody had but I know I got Key Lime pie for dessert which was heavenly!!!

Our tummies full we went on Soarin and then next door to the Imagination pavilion. After riding the kids spent some time sending e-mails home. I looked around the store and found an Epcot t-shirt for only $4.99 and bought it for Laura. Seemed like all the apparel with 2007 on it was pretty inexpensive!

While we were waiting for the kids to finish their e-mails we sat outside in the sun by the fountains. The sun felt nice.

Just before posting this pic I spotted Laura's reflection in the mirror above the ImageWorks sign! She's wearing her pink crocs and pink jacket!

I walked over to the place to meet Figment to see if anyone was in there. It was unlocked but not a soul was inside. It was kinda funny and cool being in there all alone so of course I had to show everyone else and have them check it out too.

Part 2 immediately following!

 

[Liz]

It was time for the free Disney VISA picture and I love something free! This turned out to be a BAD decision. The line had about 8-10 groups in it as best I could estimate and was extremely slow moving. I figured everyone else could explore Innoventions while I stood in line so that helped somewhat. I don't know what some people do in there with the characters but they must have individual pictures with every family member. We shouldn't have waited but you know how it is, after you have waited awhile you figure you have invested that much time you might as well stick it out. And I kept thinking maybe the line would eventually move faster. The VISA picture must have gotten more popular or well known since last year. In 2006 there was only one family in line before us and it went really quick. Or maybe we just got lucky.

When we were finally able to go in we got pics with Mickey & Pluto! This one was taken with our own camera:

We were making our way to the other side of Future World but stopped on the way to try the Coke products from around the world.

And then there's Beverly:

Notice Jeff's reaction. What a nice boyfriend!

We decided to see Ellen's Energy Adventure even though that's one of the things Jeff said he didn't really care for. He doesn't remember when it was truly boring and only educational with no entertainment value! We were waiting to go in and they announced there were technical difficulties so the ride would be closing. Another guest waiting with us exclaimed "there is a God!" We had a good laugh over that one.

Laura and I didn't want to go on Mission Space so we sat down in the sun to relax. Paul went on the non-spinny version while Jeff and Kelsee did the full deal. Kelsee didn't even realize they had been spinning and enjoyed it very much.

Jeff & Kelsee decided to do some shopping. Paul went to the car to get our warm hats, scarves, blankets, etc. Laura said she was tired and since we had to go all the way around to World Showcase for the Candlelight Processional later we got her a wheelchair. While Paul was headed to the car, Laura and I went to the Kodak shop to choose our free VISA picture. We had our picture taken approximately 2:15. It was about 4:00 when we were in the store. The pictures weren't on our Photopass card!!! I was so upset thinking we had wasted all that time in line and the pictures weren't even on our card!!! The CM said they probably just hadn't been uploaded into their system yet and to come back later. I said the reason I was there now is because I didn't want to come back later when there would surely be long lines. It seems like it takes people a long time to make their selections at the Photopass machines and I didn't want to be in that line when the park closed. He said the park wasn't at all busy that day so not to worry, there wouldn't be lines later. I was not happy but there didn't appear to be anything I could do about it. We left and took some pics while waiting for Paul to come back from the car:

We all reunited and headed to Canada for our dinner reservations at LeCellier. I'd never eaten here before - - well I actually had back when it was a cafeteria years ago. I doubt it was called LeCellier then but could have been, I don't remember. I was excited to try this restaurant since it has such high praise on the DIS. But also a little nervous because often things don't live up to the high expectations set for it.

When we were checking in another guest was commenting on the cold and told the Canada CM that she “must be used to this kind of weather”. She replied “no, this is a different kind of cold.” She looked like she was freezing too!

Laura and I went to the restroom and came out to find the rest of our group already seated. We were right by the entrance to the restaurant. I’d read that tables were placed awfully close together at LeCellier but we didn’t find that to be true, at least where we were sitting.

The food and service can be summed up in one word – SUPERB!!! Every single thing that touched our lips from the diet Coke to the steak was PERFECT!!! LeCellier deserves every bit of its wonderful reputation.

Jeff had a smoothie for his drink:

Cheese soup:

Grilled Pork Chop

Creme Brulee

Chocolate Mousse

When we exited the restaurant it felt like it had gotten a lot colder. We had our Candlelight Processional stickers on but I said if everyone was too cold and we didn’t want to stay that was okay. While we decided we heard Off Kilter playing so hurried over there to catch the end of their performance. We LUV us some Off Kilter! Jeff has two of their cds that we all enjoy listening to. Its kind of amusing to see this non-drinking Mormon family singing along to one of our favorites – “Whiskey in the Jar”!!!

We made our way over to the American Adventure pavilion. No one said it was too cold to stay. We were seeing the 8:15 Candlelight performance and it was about 7:00 when we arrived. I wanted us to be able to have good seats so I got in line and told everybody else to go do something, go in the shops, anything to try and stay warm. In every day life I’m fairly shy and wouldn’t start up conversations with strangers. But at Disney World its fun to talk to people. However this night I probably came across as being really unfriendly because I was bundled up with a scarf covering my face just trying to keep from freezing to death! After a little bit the line moved up enough that I was right by an empty spot on a BENCH! I was able to sit down and huddle into my not-warm-enough clothes some more. Its my own fault for being cold. The weather forecast before we left home showed fairly cold temps but I refused to bring my heavy coat. Lows in the 30’s didn’t sound too bad when that was the high temp in Utah. But standing by the water that night at Epcot was pretty darn freezing.

Jeff & Kelsee, Laura & Paul went to the Norway ride. Not sure what else they did but eventually I heard Jeff calling my name. They were trying to find me in line. I hoped my fellow line mates wouldn’t protest when four people came to join me. They were great about it and actually had people come join them too. The people just behind us had a daughter in the choir that night.

While I was sitting on the bench Jeff sat on my lap for awhile and it was really helpful to stay warm. Then Laura sat with me for awhile. Before long it was time to go in the theater.

At LeCellier they had given us a sticker to put on our clothing to indicate we had the purchased the dining package.

Well after all that waiting in line . . .

in the cold . . . . .

my sticker . . . .

was gone!!!

We frantically started looking for it on the ground, on the bench, on my clothes, on Jeff & Laura since they had been sitting in my lap. Even the people around me who I had been too cold to feel like talking to were helping look. Jeff said he would give me his so I could go in. What a sweetheart. I wouldn’t let him, of course, but so nice to offer.

Then, bless her heart, Kelsee found it! It had unattached itself from my jacket and attached to my fleece scarf! WHEW!! She found it just as they started to let people in the theater! If we hadn't been able to find it I wonder if they would have let me in if we explained. Luckily I don't have to find out what would have happened! I was surprised to see so many people already sitting down when we got in the theater. I’m guessing that was the handicap line that went first? Not sure.

We got pretty good seats, a little to the side but I wanted to be as close to the front as possible and under the shelter with some protection from the wind. No one had to ask us to scoot together to make room for others! We were scrunched up as close as possible to share the blankets and body heat!

I’m so glad we stayed for the Candlelight Processional!

I enjoyed it soooooooo much more than last year! I don’t know if it was the narrator we had (Kirk Cameron) or if the mood I was in was much more receptive at the moment but it was fabulous. After seeing it last year I didn’t think we would do it again until the narrators were released and I knew I wanted to see Kirk Cameron. It was fun that it was somebody the kids knew too. Last year they were clueless as to who Edward James Olmos was (although he did an excellent job as well.)

We headed towards Morocco and found a wonderful spot there to watch Illuminations. The pre-Illuminations music was playing. We listen to Disney music at home on Live365.com and I always hit the mute button when some of the pre-Illuminations music plays because I don't care for it. I told Laura to put it on Mute and we laughed. It was an excellent view and not crowded at all. We weren’t quite as cold (at first) after being warmed up a bit during the CP. The special ending for the Christmas season is particularly wonderful! I was happy to be able to see it again!

We made our way slowly out of the park and when we arrived at the Kodak store I looked to see if there was a line so I could choose our free Disney VISA photo. The line was semi-long – long enough that I knew I’d probably be in there half an hour – and we were ready to head back so I didn't get a picture.

We were back at Wilderness Lodge in no time at all. Whenever we drove to the parks Paul would always drop us off right at the door of the Lodge when we returned in the evening then he would go park the car. Our very own valet service! Up in our room we found this:

Best part of the day: Being together at LeCellier and having a wonderful, relaxing meal

Worst part of the day: The long wait for the Disney VISA picture and then not even being able to get our free photo.

 

[carissanboys]

What a wonderful report Liz! I really enjoyed that

So glad to hear how much you enjoyed Le Cellier! I'm really excited for our dinner there.

I love that close up of Spaceship Earth! So cool! Although, it looks really weird to me without Mickey's arm!

 

[klj27]

Another great report! FYI: You don't have to get your visa picture the same day you have it taken. We went back four days later with our coupon and got it then.