A 2009 Magical Christmas Trip Report - Big Announcement!

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Great update!! Christopher's birthday seems like a hit so far!!!!

 

[praisehisname]

I love the shirts you made for the kids!

 

[raider97]

Cute pics from breakfast! Sorry the service was not good. I'm glad you guys were able to manuever around the crowds!

Thanks! I just hate when bad service takes away from a great meal! I was surprised by the crowds this morning!

What a great trip to WDW so far ! I'm enjoying reading your TR - keep it up !

I too have a "nearly Christmas"-born Christopher - we're spending his birthday this year at Disneyland. His middle name is James, and my eldest daughter is Stephanie - kinda cool

Look forward to the next instalment.

Cheers,
Sally

Thanks! Glad you are enjoying reading! I hope to get another installment up today. Just need to get the pictures uploaded.

Love the similiarities! Do you have a pre-trip going? Chris keeps telling me we are going to Disney World for his birthday again this year... I have the feeling he is going to be disappointed. But we might be back for his 6th birthday.

Great update!! Christopher's birthday seems like a hit so far!!!!

Thanks! It was a great day!

I love the shirts you made for the kids!

Thank you! They were a huge hit. I think they were my favorites!

 

[raider97]

Day 5 - Part 2 - December 21th, 2009

We were headed back to Port Orleans Riverside for lunch and naps. When our bus reached the resort we got off at the South Depot. We walked into Riverside Mill, not knowing what to expect. It was nice! We hit it at the right time, there were only a handful of other families in the dining area. We all browsed the sections trying to decide what we wanted. We ordered the pizza for the kids to split with two counter service credits. This included two drinks, and two desserts. The kids decided they would go back for ice cream when they were done. I used a snack credit to get a third drink for them. DH and I both ordered the muffaletta sandwich platter. It was good. After finishing up, Ashley and James went back to the bakery for dessert and Haley, Christopher, and myself headed back to the ice cream station. I can’t remember what my mom ordered at lunch today.

After lunch, we headed back to our room, we arrived there about 2:30 p.m. or so. We closed the darkening shade and all settled in for a nap. I set the alarm to go off about 5:00 p.m. We didn’t get up and going again until around 5:30 p.m. or so. By 6:00 p.m. we were headed back to Magic Kingdom. On the way we talked to Derrick, they were headed to their dinner ADR at the Grand Floridian Café so we agreed they would call us when they were done. I checked in with Desi and they were hoping we would meet up with them to ride Space Mountain together. We stopped to take a few photo pass pictures on the way in!

When we arrived at the park we headed towards Space Mountain. We had fast passes from this morning. We agreed that me and Ashley and Desi and Grace would ride first. We headed into the fastpass queue and were quickly loaded in. The girls loved it! We headed out to meet up with the others. James decided he would wait and ride Space Mountain with Derrick when they got back from dinner. Desi was going to wait while Jason took Grace back on and we decided to head to dinner.

We went to Columbia Harbor House. We ordered two shrimp platters, and three kids chicken nugget plates. My mom ordered the tuna sandwich. Ashley and Chris shared the shrimp platter, my two shrimp babies! And James had their chicken nugget plates. Haley also had chicken nuggets, with her food allergies we have been advised to not allow her to eat shellfish. All the food was good, and we were again eating at an off time since the place was dead. We may have been the only family in here at this time.

After we finished up we headed towards the Main Street hub to see the fireworks. I wanted to see them from in front of the castle. We ended up near the hub, on one of the side spoke walkways. We had a pretty good view and didn’t have to wait very long until the fireworks started. I love Holiday Wishes! So pretty!

Once the fireworks were over, we headed towards Main Street. I wanted to be close to the beginning of the hub so we could grab some great spots for the Spectro Magic Parade. We got to where I wanted to be and just stood there, the mass crowds exiting the parks was simply amazing! Once the crowds started to thin, we sat down right on the curb! Score, perfect seats for the parade. While we were waiting we took advantage of our time and got a few photo pass pictures taken. Derrick and Jennifer called and said that dinner had run late, and that they had decided to just go ahead and head back to their resort. We told them we would see them in the morning.

We took the kids for potty breaks and snacks and just enjoyed our time waiting and people watching. Before we knew it, the announcement came on about the parade beginning and the lights being dimmed. And the Spectro Magic began! This is one of my favorite parades! We all loved it! When it finished up we headed back to our resort to turn in. It had been a long, but fun day and we had plans to be at rope drop at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the mornin

 

[GoofTroop]

Just found your trip report and have read it all the way through. I'm enjoying it, and your kids are adorable!

We're planning on Christmas of 2011.....

Elizabeth

 

[praisehisname]

Sounds like you had a great night!

 

[happenin2you]

Things are coming right along! I'm anxiously awaiting your next installment, but I know it must be chaotic at your house with the school year coming to a close and the kids having more free time. I hope they did well this year. My classes all ended better than I anticipated, which is good because I put a lot of pressure on myself.


On a brighter note, I made all my reservations for my December trip!!!

Here's my plans:

My plane gets in around 1145am so we will probably just grab lunch at Chick-Fil-A in the airport, because we love it and we don't have it here

12-9
Dinner: Tutto Italia Ristorante - Epcot 6:15 pm

12-10
Breakfast: Kona Café -Disney's Polynesian Resort
8:05 am

Lunch: The Wave- Disney's Contemporary Resort 1:55 pm

Dinner: Narcoossee's -Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa 8:40 pm

12-11
Breakfast: Tusker House Restaurant - Disney's Animal Kingdom 8:50 am

Lunch: Yak & Yeti Restaurant - Disney's Animal Kingdom 3:00 pm

Dinner: California Grill - Disney's Contemporary Resort 9:30 pm (Wishes is at 10pm!)

12-12
Brunch: 50's Prime Time Café -Disney's Hollywood Studios 11:10 am

Late Lunch: Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater - Disney's Hollywood Studios 4:15 pm

Dinner: Kouzzina by Cat Cora - Disney's BoardWalk Resort 9:15 pm

12-13 (all day at universal to see Harry Potter)

Breakfast and Lunch: somewhere in Universal

Dinner: Artist Point -Disney's Wilderness Lodge 9:25 pm

12-14 (Universal again)

Breakfast and Lunch: somewhere in universal

Dinner: Spirit of the Aloha -Disney's Polynesian Resort 8:00 pm

12-15
Breakfast: Olivia's Cafe -Disney's Old Key West Resort 8:00 am

Lunch: Le Cellier Steakhouse - Epcot 11:35 am

Dinner: Biergarten Restaurant - Epcot 5:50 pm

12-16
Breakfast: Whispering Canyon Café - Disney's Wilderness Lodge 7:30 am

Lunch: Rose & Crown Pub

Dinner: Hopefully a counter service or airport food depending on magical ecpress time (our flight leaves at 7:47 pm)

 

[raider97]

Just found your trip report and have read it all the way through. I'm enjoying it, and your kids are adorable!

We're planning on Christmas of 2011.....

Elizabeth

Welcome! Thanks! I hope to get my next update in very soon! It is crazy right now at our house with the kids home for the summer. All three are in VBS this week and we are going camping in the Texas heat tomorrow! Yikes!! Hopefully, I can get a post up before we head out. I think we are looking at going back in Dec. 2011 too. It will be here before we know it!!

Sounds like you had a great night!

It was a great night!! Chris keeps telling us he is having his birthday this year at WDW too. I keep trying to explain to him that we aren't going to be able to go this year. I'm hoping he isn't going to be too disappointed.

 

[raider97]

Things are coming right along! I'm anxiously awaiting your next installment, but I know it must be chaotic at your house with the school year coming to a close and the kids having more free time. I hope they did well this year. My classes all ended better than I anticipated, which is good because I put a lot of pressure on myself.

Yep, things are crazy here right now! The kids are in their second full week of summer and Iour schedule is crazy right now! We just got back last week from a quick trip to TN. The kids have VBS this week, the girls have gymnastics and swimming and we are going camping this weekend. I am hoping to get my next installment up very soon!

So glad to hear your semester went well! I'll be back very soon to chat about your ADRs. Right now we have to go to the doctor's office. Ash is complaining about ear pain.

I'll be back soon!!

 

[raider97]

Here's my plans:

My plane gets in around 1145am so we will probably just grab lunch at Chick-Fil-A in the airport, because we love it and we don't have it here I L-O-V-E Chick-Fil-A!! We don't get to eat it very much since they cook in peanut oil and Haley is allergic to peanuts. I have been able to eat it a few times since she started school - I take Chris out on a lunch date when I am craving it.
12-9
Dinner: Tutto Italia Ristorante - Epcot 6:15 pm

This one looks really good!! I have been wanting to try it, so you will have to let me know how it is. My mom is really picky, or I probably would have tried in on our last trip.

12-10
Breakfast: Kona Café -Disney's Polynesian Resort
8:05 am

Yummmm! I have to try this one the next time we go!! I have to try that stuffed french toast!! I can't remember - did you guys eat here the last time you went?

Lunch: The Wave- Disney's Contemporary Resort 1:55 pm

Another one that looks good! Goodness, you got good ADRs!! I really want to try their sampler desserts!

Dinner: Narcoossee's -Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa 8:40 pm

One day, when I can drop my three little ones off at a Neverland Club I am going to have a date night here!!

12-11
Breakfast: Tusker House Restaurant - Disney's Animal Kingdom 8:50 am

If I remember correctly, you ate here on your honeymoon trip right? I want to try this one too! I love Donald and Daisy!

Lunch: Yak & Yeti Restaurant - Disney's Animal Kingdom 3:00 pm

I really fought with this one on our December trip. The menu looks great!! We only did one day in AK and I knew we were going to get there late, so I didn't want to tie us down to a lunch ADR and it closed early that night so we ended up eating at T-Rex that night. Someday though, I want to try this one!

Dinner: California Grill - Disney's Contemporary Resort 9:30 pm (Wishes is at 10pm!)

So excited for you guys for this one! It looks like great food and you can't beat it when you score a wishes time slot!!

12-12
Brunch: 50's Prime Time Café -Disney's Hollywood Studios 11:10 am

This one sounds good! I haven't tried it yet, but the menu looks really yummy!

Late Lunch: Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater - Disney's Hollywood Studios 4:15 pm

I L-O-V-E Sci-Fi!!

Dinner: Kouzzina by Cat Cora - Disney's BoardWalk Resort 9:15 pm

This will be a nice romantic dinner. It should be late enough that it probably won't have too many kids. And the menu looks great!

12-13 (all day at universal to see Harry Potter)

Can't wait to hear what you think of HP!

Breakfast and Lunch: somewhere in Universal

Dinner: Artist Point -Disney's Wilderness Lodge 9:25 pm

I have heard great things about AP! It is on my one day list!

12-14 (Universal again)

Breakfast and Lunch: somewhere in universal

Dinner: Spirit of the Aloha -Disney's Polynesian Resort 8:00 pm

We saw this show on our honeymoon! It was a lot of fun!

12-15
Breakfast: Olivia's Cafe -Disney's Old Key West Resort 8:00 am

This one always gets great reviews! I want to try it sometime. I would have a hard time deciding between breakfast and dinner!

Lunch: Le Cellier Steakhouse - Epcot 11:35 am

All I can say is - Yummmmmmmmmmmm! Their food is great and love those Chocolate Rasberry Shakes!

Dinner: Biergarten Restaurant - Epcot 5:50 pm

We haven't tried Biergarten it, but it looks like it would be a lot of fun!

12-16
Breakfast: Whispering Canyon Café - Disney's Wilderness Lodge 7:30 am

We had dinner here on our '07 trip. It was good! I think I had forgotten they served breakfast. I love the WL! So pretty!

Lunch: Rose & Crown Pub

I want to try this one sometime too!

Dinner: Hopefully a counter service or airport food depending on magical ecpress time (our flight leaves at 7:47 pm)

That is a great flight out time! We have always been stuck with those noon or earlier flight times which I hate. I would love to actually get to spend my last day doing something rather than just getting ready to catch ME!

Looks like your plans are coming along great! I love your ADRs! It seems like a long time away still, but our last 6 months just flew by! I have tentative plans to go back December of 2011. As long as James gets his camper first he said we could go!!

 

[happenin2you]

Right now we have to go to the doctor's office. Ash is complaining about ear pain.

I'll be back soon!!

Oh no! I hope she's feeling better! (haha, it was kinda a while ago so if she's not by now then we might have a problem )

 

[happenin2you]

Chick-Fil-A- such a bummer about the food allergies... poor girl, i'll pray for her to outgrow it, no one should be deprived of the delicious chick-fil-a. We went to California in May and we ate at Chick-fil-a in San Diego three times! Just could not get enough.
12-9
Tutto Italia Ristorante -I wanted to try this last time but I had already booked Mama Melrose's and Tony's and didn't want to wear my husband out of the Italian food. I could eat it indefinitely though
12-10
Breakfast: Kona Café -This is a first for us. I've heard that the Tonga Toast is a must, so we must try it
Lunch: The Wave- I picked this one because it's close to MK and easy to access and return to the park.
Dinner: Narcoossee's -I'm really excited about our little date night here, should be amazing.
12-11
Breakfast: Tusker House Restaurant - We did eat here and Yak and Yeti on our honeymoon. They're repeats because there aren't many options for table service at AK.
Lunch: Yak & Yeti Restaurant - Ironically I wanted to get a ressie at T-Rex for my last day, but it wasn't available. This one was a must for us anyways, my husband has been talking about it since we left.
Dinner: California Grill - This place with fireworks was the only way I wanted it. I wanted to come here last time but I had no idea the planning that needed to go into a disney trip. I made my ressies much closer to my travel dates and although I had everything very well planned out, everything I requested was unavailable and I had to do some quick thinking with the CM on the phone.

12-12
Brunch: 50's Prime Time Café -Technically this is a lunch, as they don't have a breakfast or brunch menu, but we wanted this and sci-fi with only one day in this park.... so this is what we did. We'll probably grab a bagel or banana from our hotel in the am.
Late Lunch: Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater - I L-O-V-E Sci-Fi!! Me too!!

Dinner: Kouzzina by Cat Cora - Really late, but we are having a late lunch and want to be hungry for this one. We are big food network watchers and an Iron Chef restuarant is automatic for us. In January we ate a challengers place in Miami, which was amazing!
12-13 (all day at universal to see Harry Potter)

Breakfast and Lunch: somewhere in Universal - probably a meal at the 3 broomsticks
Dinner: Artist Point - Not that I'm not excited about this one, but the main reason I picked it because it's at our hotel and we are trying to eat and sleep our way through the whole "world". Last time we ate at Jiko and Boma at AKL.
12-14 (Universal again)

Breakfast and Lunch: somewhere in universal

Dinner: Spirit of the Aloha -I'm really excited for this one, we did Hoop-Dee-Doo last time and we loved it. Also, I have absolutely no interest in going to Hawaii, not really sure why, just not into it, so I'm glad I can see a show like this off the island. The open beer and wine won't hurt either

12-15
Breakfast: Olivia's Cafe -Totally random pick for me but I looked at the menu and the breakfast cuban sandwich is right up my hubby's alley.

Lunch: Le Cellier Steakhouse - Another one I tried to get last time, but was booked for my whole trip just happy to get in this time, even if it's lunch.
Dinner: Biergarten Restaurant - It seems like Hofbrauhaus, which i hate, but my husband is a fan of, and we all know about marriage and compromise. He's not very into going to disney when there are so many other places we haven't been and we've been to disney already. So this ressie was one of my gifts to him, along with a promise to see the Beatles tribute band for all of their performances. A small price to pay for a trip to disney.
12-16
Breakfast: Whispering Canyon Café - Like I mentioned earlier, according to our own disney rules, we have to eat here because it's in our hotel. The breakfast menu looks delicious though and I'm sure Chris will like the response when he requests ketchup.
Lunch: Rose & Crown Pub- this one i just changed today to Liberty Tree Tavern in MK. R&C menu was really not for me and we decided we'd rather spend our last day in MK and we loved LTT so much last time we were there. It will be a nice way to end our vacation on a positive note. (Hopefully i won't get sick on the last day like I did last time, not sure if i got that far in my TR...)

Dinner: Hopefully a counter service or airport food depending on magical ecpress time (our flight leaves at 7:47 pm) Honestly, we'll probably have chick-fil-a on the way out regardless

Last time our flight out was at 11:45, so we had to get out early too, which was interesting and miserable considering I was sick. We had also had a late night the night before and hadn't packed so Chris had to pack everything while I layed in bed moaning and running back and forth to the restroom


Looks like your plans are coming along great! I love your ADRs! It seems like a long time away still, but our last 6 months just flew by! I have tentative plans to go back December of 2011. As long as James gets his camper first he said we could go!!

We wanted to eat at as many new places as possible, but there were some that we just felt we needed to go back to. Honestly, as far as time ticking away, I want this summer to drag on forever. Once school starts back up my life will be miserable. I'm taking 6 classes, 3 of them educational psychology.... crazy, I know. What is nice, though, is that my last final will be on a wednesday and that night we will board our plane for the red eye to MCO. Luckily, since my semester will be so full, I'm sure it will fly by.

You better start shopping for campers! There's that marriage and compromise thing again I'm sure that you guys will have plenty of fun camping vacations with that, and you could always convince him to camp at the wilderness campground

I don't think we'll make it back to the world until we have kids, and when we do, they'll have to be a few years old. We've already planned for May 2011 a Eurotrip. Then we have to squeeze in his family in Colorado and Mexico, my family in New York, and any other places we want to go for leisure before we have kids.

Sorry to hi-jack Can't wait to hear what happens next in your vacation!

 

[happenin2you]

By the way, in my previous post, where I quote you, I responded within the qoute, I just didn't change the colors.... Sorry next time haha!

 

[raider97]

Day 6 - Part 1 - December 22th, 2009

Today was my mom’s birthday and we had plans to be at Hollywood Studios for rope drop. We were up, showered, and out of the room very early. Which was surprising since we had been up late the night before. We arrived about fifteen minutes before the scheduled opening time.

We got in the shortest line and waited. Before we knew it we were headed in. James had strict instructions to take the kids and my mom and get in the standby line for Toy Story Mania. I was headed for fast passes. I figured if I had to catch up great, if not I wanted them to be able to ride.

We all made our way to Toy Story Mania. I jumped in the fast pass line which was moving surprisingly fast. Soon I found out they were just handing out the fast passes instead of making you put your tickets into the machine. Score, fast moving line and my tickets and not been swiped! I was able to easily catch up with James and the family before they hit the standby line (moving with three kids and a mother-in-law proved to be a slow process.)

We made our way through the standby line. This was our first time riding this ride and I was very impressed with how well they had themed it! We made it to the front of the line and loaded in. When we got off the consensus was that we all L-O-V-E-D it! What a great ride. When we got off I took the kids to the bathroom and sent James to get more fast passes. When we got back, James told me they were still not scanning passes and that Derrick and his family had called to say they were on their way and they wanted to know where to meet us and which fast pass they should try and get. James had told them to get some Toy Story Mania fast passes and then to meet us at The Little Mermaid.

James and my mother took the kids to see The Little Mermaid. It was a bit before the show so I headed off to secure Tower of Terror fast passes. I was quickly in and out of the fast pass line with TOT fast passes. I headed back to The Little Mermaid and entered the waiting area. They had just started letting people in and I was hopefully I would make it into the theatre. But alas, no luck, the line was stopped about 5 people in front of me. I quickly texted James that I would meet them after the show in the courtyard.

While I was waiting I decided to do some shopping. I bought Christopher a Mickey hat I had been eyeing earlier in the week at Epcot. And I found Disney Pirate Princess Ears for the girls. I arranged to have the package sent to the front of the park for pickup later and wandered back into the courtyard where I ran into Derrick and his family. We waited together for my family to get out of The Little Mermaid. When everyone was out Derrick and Jennifer decided to take Jacob and Tyler, their younger two boys, to go see The Playhouse Disney show, and we took Joey with us to use our fast passes from earlier. Since we were one fast pass short, James decided to sit it out. We were quickly through the fast pass line and on the ride. Yay! Did I mention I love this ride? I think it is one of my all-time favorites! It is just so much fun!

When we exited we found Derrick and his family had met up with James while we were on the ride. We decided to go ride The Great Movie ride. I’m not sure if we took the kids on this ride the last time we were at Disney World or not. Anyways, we had a short line since they only had one side working, but it moved fairly quickly. I really like this ride also. My kids loved the Wizard of Oz scene. It is currently one of their favorite movies.

After we exited The Great Movie Ride it was time for our lunch reservations at The Sci-Fi Diner. When we arrived we ran into Desi and her family. They had just made it to the park and had informed us that Rockin Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror were both out of fast passes for the day. Did I mention before this was not a recommended TGM day? And I can see why! It was packed! In some places it was wall-to-wall people. It was a Fantasmic night and even though we weren’t planning to see the show, since Desi and her family and Derrick and his family were all leaving the next day we were forced to brave the park today!

I have some really cute pictures from lunch today. I’ll be back for the 2nd part of our day tomorrow! Hope you are enjoying following along. I love telling you all about our trip!

 

[happenin2you]

That's so awesome that you were able to get so many fast passes without scaning your tickets! I wonder if it is always like that first thing in the morning or if you were just lucky. I hope I get some days like that, or all days like that Your trip sounds like so much fun, can't wait to hear more!

 

[praisehisname]

That's cool you were able to get so many fastpasses! We've never had that happen on our trips, but I read about it in someone else's TR.

 

[raider97]

We wanted to eat at as many new places as possible, but there were some that we just felt we needed to go back to. Honestly, as far as time ticking away, I want this summer to drag on forever. Once school starts back up my life will be miserable. I'm taking 6 classes, 3 of them educational psychology.... crazy, I know. What is nice, though, is that my last final will be on a wednesday and that night we will board our plane for the red eye to MCO. Luckily, since my semester will be so full, I'm sure it will fly by.

You better start shopping for campers! There's that marriage and compromise thing again I'm sure that you guys will have plenty of fun camping vacations with that, and you could always convince him to camp at the wilderness campground

I don't think we'll make it back to the world until we have kids, and when we do, they'll have to be a few years old. We've already planned for May 2011 a Eurotrip. Then we have to squeeze in his family in Colorado and Mexico, my family in New York, and any other places we want to go for leisure before we have kids.

Sorry to hi-jack Can't wait to hear what happens next in your vacation!

Wow, you are going to be very busy this fall! But what a nice relaxing vacation to look forward too! I'm going to start back to school next fall, when Chris starts kinder.

I know, everyone keeps telling me that!! We just paid my Suburban off early so I don't want to jump right back into a payment, so I'm hoping to pay cash. Keeping my fingers crossed we will be able to swing it next summer! We may have to start eating ramen.

James has decided he is willing to go every other year if we can swing it. Which works for me because that gives me enough planning time without being too long.

Hope you summer is going well!

 

[raider97]

By the way, in my previous post, where I quote you, I responded within the qoute, I just didn't change the colors.... Sorry next time haha!

I had a lot of problems with mine. So yours may be the only one I do.

That's so awesome that you were able to get so many fast passes without scaning your tickets! I wonder if it is always like that first thing in the morning or if you were just lucky. I hope I get some days like that, or all days like that Your trip sounds like so much fun, can't wait to hear more!

We were lucky that morning! It was the only day we had that happen to us. And DHS was packed that day. Granted since TSM wasn't scanning most of the morning it made all the fastpasses in the park go fast. I'll wish you lots of luck and many free fastpass days! Thanks, I'm trying to get it finished before Christmas.

That's cool you were able to get so many fastpasses! We've never had that happen on our trips, but I read about it in someone else's TR.

We were lucky. That day was the only day we had that happen on our trip.

 

[raider97]

Well we just got back on Sunday from our trip to VA. We drove to SA and flew out of there so we were gone a total of 11 days. 9 of which we were in Virginia Beach. We had a lot of fun, but it isn't disney. I know you guys will appreciate that, not that I didn't have fun. I just prefer to vacation in the world. And to make matter worse, we actually had a layover in Orlando on the way back. Me and the kids were so tempted to just go catch the ME to our favorite place.

I hope to get a new installment posted tomorrow. Thanks so much for bearing with me! Have a great night!!

 

[happenin2you]

Well we just got back on Sunday from our trip to VA. We drove to SA and flew out of there so we were gone a total of 11 days. 9 of which we were in Virginia Beach. We had a lot of fun, but it isn't disney. I know you guys will appreciate that, not that I didn't have fun. I just prefer to vacation in the world. And to make matter worse, we actually had a layover in Orlando on the way back. Me and the kids were so tempted to just go catch the ME to our favorite place.

I hope to get a new installment posted tomorrow. Thanks so much for bearing with me! Have a great night!!

How was VA? My family in NY goes there every summer, but since I did most of my growing up on the west coast, I've never been. We go to San Diego, which I have no comparison to Va, but i'm pretty sure it's one of the best places in the world =)

That's so tempting to be in MCO and not getting on the ME bus. Kudos to you for having self control

Looking forward to the next installment!