A Safari Christmas Goes Pop! (w/pics)

[njdisneyfreak]

Very cool! I already have my mom looking into patterns to make DD the pink, winter dress and red, velvet cloak that Belle had on in the winter scene of B & the B. I know it's Cinderella's Royal Table, but DD's not blond and the winter outfit is soooo pretty.

In my excitement, I bought a pair of lime-green Frocs (fake Crocs, ), and Mickey Jibbits, so you'll definitely see us.

I love that outfit, and though I like Cinderella, I'm more of a Belle fan myself, so I understand. Maybe I just relate more to darker haired princesses, since I really like Snow White, too. That's great that you're mom is so talented that she can possibly make an outfit like that.

That's cool that you got lime-green Frocs. I shared what you called fake Crocs with my DH, and today when he saw some, he said, "Look, honey! Frocs!" You may have started a trend here.

 

[DisneyFan06]

We will be there from Dec 21 - 27. You picked some good resturants! Cant wait to read more!

 

[njdisneyfreak]

We will be there from Dec 21 - 27. You picked some good resturants! Cant wait to read more!

That's great! We'll have to compare notes. I'm off to check out your PTR.

 

[njdisneyfreak]

As I believe I mentioned in a prior post, my mother-in-law passed away. Now, I'm back home. It was tough, but my DH and I have been happy to go back to discussing our WDW trip.

A couple of dining changes have occurred since I last posted our itinerary. The biggest one involved getting rid of the Garden Grill since we saw online that it will stop serving lunch starting in November and we had a lunch ressie. Ah, well. The other changes are minor. I figure I can post a final list later, after I'm absolutely certain that it's set.

I'm trying to learn from my last PTR to not post and re-post and re-post again with each itinerary change. That just got way too confusing!

My DH mentioned to me that he wishes we were there when they have MVMCP since we enjoyed last year's so much, but with the date that they are ending it and my teaching restrictions for vacation dates, we just can't do it this year. It is a bummer, but at least they do all the same stuff throughout the dates we'll be there.

We've been talking about doing tours. We know we want to do the Segway Tour on our first full day. Though we haven't booked it yet, that one is fairly set. But, we also want to do the Behind the Seeds Tour. Okay, I want to do the Behind the Seeds Tour. On our last trip, I wanted to go, and we always had stuff to do and never got around to it. This time, my DH assures me that we will do that. Have any of you gone on that one? I always love going on The Land Ride. The stuff they have learned to do with growing various vegetation and seafood is so cool, and who doesn't love the Mickey shaped pumpkins!

We are thinking of doing another tour, while we're there. What do you guys think about the Keys to the Kingdom Tour at the MK? On our last trip, we did the Behind the Scenes Tour that takes you to all the parks, but the AK. On this tour, we would go more in depth into the MK. Seems cool, especially for a Disney Freak like me. We also toyed with the idea of doing the dolphins tour in Epcot, but we think we might hold off for a future trip when we can make it over to that park, Discovery Cove, in Orlando where you can spend the day with dolphins.

Have any of you been on other tours at WDW that you'd recommend? We think we want to do at least one besides the Segway one.

Waiting is going to be hard. I know it's just over five months away and that time will go fast, but with all the time looming ahead of us, it seems like forever.

Today we went over our packing list. Yup! You heard right. Our packing list. Weird? Maybe. But we still had last year's list on my laptop and it took no time to update it for this year's trip. The hard part will be clothing. Last year, we brought clothes for both colder temps and warmer temps, and we leaned more towards the cooler clothing items. Then, we arrived and it was incredibly warm the whole time! Not that I'm complaining. We're hoping for great weather again, so this time, we're leaning more towards the warmer weather. Send pixie dust our way that this will be the case!

Okay, so now I'm off to continue reading DisneyFan06's thread. I began it before I left and wasn't able to return to it till now.

I'll be back soon with more of the latest. Coming Up: How to Croc

 

[wdwgirl03]

Wow, your dining plans look great! I love the Sci-Fi. And we ate at Mama Melrose's for the first time on our May trip and really enjoyed it.

 

[njdisneyfreak]

Wow, your dining plans look great! I love the Sci-Fi. And we ate at Mama Melrose's for the first time on our May trip and really enjoyed it.

We love Sci-Fi too. The concept of a drive-in is great and the movie clips are entertaining. I noticed on our last trip that the wait staff no longer wears roller skates though. I guess one too many accidents, huh?

What do you recommend at Mama Melrose?

 

[njdisneyfreak]

For those of you who have Crocs, do you recommend the normal design or the Mary Jane version? I am torn. I am also torn on which color to choose.

We've made more dining changes and we booked the Segway Tour!!! I'm so excited. We've ridden them in one of the Innoventions buildings, and they were so much fun! For the tour, they'll do an hour indoors where we ride them through the building, learning. Then, we do an hour touring the World on them. I can't wait! We're doing it on our first morning at 7:45. Yeah, it's early, but it's a two hour tour and we'll still have a lot of our day left. We also changed our dinner plans to Chefs de France. I can't wait to try that place out, too. I hope it was a good choice.

 

[njdisneyfreak]

Okay, so we went and ordered a pair of Crocs apiece. I ordered a pair of flip flops for now. See?

If I like them, I'll get a pair of the shoes, though I still don't know if I'll go more traditional or Mary Janes.

My DH ordered these:

He wants a pair of flip flops too, but opted to get the shoe version for now. Yeah! Our first purchase for the trip!!!!

Oh, I'd love to update my itinerary, but I just posted yesterday that I was going to wait. Oh, what to do? What to do?

 

[DisneyFan06]

Good choices.

We each own special Disney crocs. Recently, Stephanie left her pair outside and someone stole them!!!! Would you believe - someone stole a pair of Mickey Disney Crocs. So, I guess we have to purchase another pair for her before this trip.

Okay, so we went and ordered a pair of Crocs apiece. I ordered a pair of flip flops for now. See?

If I like them, I'll get a pair of the shoes, though I still don't know if I'll go more traditional or Mary Janes.

My DH ordered these:

He wants a pair of flip flops too, but opted to get the shoe version for now. Yeah! Our first purchase for the trip!!!!

Oh, I'd love to update my itinerary, but I just posted yesterday that I was going to wait. Oh, what to do? What to do?

 

[njdisneyfreak]

Good choices. We each own special Disney crocs. Recently, Stephanie left her pair outside and someone stole them!!!! Would you believe - someone stole a pair of Mickey Disney Crocs. So, I guess we have to purchase another pair for her before this trip.

What's funny, is that on our WDW trip in 2002 we saw some people wearing Crocs and were like, "Ew! Look at those shoes." We said it to each other, not to them. Within a year, we saw people wearing them all over the place. On our trip last year, we noticed that a huge portion of the WDW guests had them on and on a recent visit to the hospital almost every staff member has them on. So, I guess those plastic shoes have become quite the hot commodity! Stephanie won't be able to put her new pair outside anymore, unfortunately. Who would have ever guessed they'd become so popular that people would want to steal them?!

 

[njdisneyfreak]

We tried to book the Keys to the Kingdom tour and they didn't have any availability during our entire stay. Ah well. . .next time. At least we got the Segway Tour and we'll do the Behind the Seeds Tour. I'm so looking forward to this trip!

 

[njdisneyfreak]

This is a mistake post. Sorry about that. I did a post with all the pics, but it was all screwed up. So, on to the second try.

 

[njdisneyfreak]

They say a picture says a 1000 words, and I don't think I gave a full picture of why we loved last year's trip so much, and why we're crazy enough to go back during the busiest time all year in WDW! So, hang on, keep your arms inside the vehicle and enjoy the ride!!!

There's the castle full of white lights:

Simply magical!

The Christmas parade in the MK:

The great picture opportunities you can only get this time of year:

Holidays Around the World:

The Hollywood Holly Day Parade at the Studios:

The park decorations:

Hopefully, I didn't show too much for those of you who are planning your own trips for the holidays. Clearly, WDW during the holiday season is completely unique and so amazingly magical. Seeing all those pictures again makes me want to leave now! Ah, well. All in good time.

 

[DISNEY4XMAS]

For those of you who have Crocs, do you recommend the normal design or the Mary Jane version? I am torn. I am also torn on which color to choose.

i would have said the normal design but I have mary janes now and I love them!! I have brown maryjanes and hot pink crocs and black mickey crocs

 

[njdisneyfreak]

i would have said the normal design but I have mary janes now and I love them!! I have brown maryjanes and hot pink crocs and black mickey crocs

What do you like about the Mary Janes? I think they appeal to me more since they are sleeker looking, but are there any other reasons you like them?

 

[DISNEY4XMAS]

What do you like about the Mary Janes? I think they appeal to me more since they are sleeker looking, but are there any other reasons you like them?

Well The whole reason I bought them was because me feet were sweating in the mickey crocs one night at work and they didn't match my outfit. So I went to the gift shop and they had my size and color I wanted right on the floor, it was a sign. I really like them because they are open and my feet can breath. I also like the look they so stylish . No, I do like them, though very comfortable. The only thing with the crocs I don't like is that they chew up my socks. I always end up with holes in my heels when the crocs are new!

 

[njdisneyfreak]

Alright, I thought I would only post my initial itinerary and my final one towards the end. But, in all fairness, I think all planning should be included and this has been part of the planning. . .Convincing enough? Okay, well, full speed ahead captain! Sorry, Pirates of the Caribbean on the brain.

Here's my updated itinerary:

Tuesday, December 23rd
- We're arriving during the morning
- Lunch will be at Mara's
- We'll probably be exploring the resort and go to Downtown for a while
- Dinner at Narcoossee's (We'll get to see the MK fireworks from there!!!)

Wednesday, December 24th
- Quick yogurt or some like food from Mara's
- Head over to Epcot- Segway Tour from 7:45 to 9:45
- Late breakfast at Akershus
- Snack around the World as we enjoy Christmas festivities
- Dinner at Chef's de France
- Hollywood Studios to see the Osbourne Lights

Thursday, December 25th
- Head over to the MK- Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table
- Enjoy as much of the park as possible before it gets too crazy
- Lunch at Crystal Palace
- Head over to the Animal Kingdom
- Dinner at Jiko's

Friday, December 26th
- Breakfast at Boma's
- Go to HS
- Lunch at Mama Melrose's
- Go to Epcot
- Dinner at Chef Mickey's
- Go to the Mk for EMH

Saturday, December 27th
- Head over to the AK
- Breakfast at Donald’s Safari Breakfast at Tusker House
- Lunch at either Flametree BBQ if still in AK or Toy Store Pizza Planet if we're at HS
- Go to HS
- Dinner at Boma's

Sunday, December 28th
- Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare
- Go to the MK
- Lunch at Tony's Townsquare Restaurant
- Dinner at Ohana

Monday, December 29th
- Breakfast at Boma's
- Go to HS
- Lunch at Sci-Fi
- Go to Epcot
- Dinner at the Coral Reef

Tuesday, December 30th
- Breakfast at Ohana
- Go to Downtown
- Lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express
- Dinner at 1900 Park Fare
- Go to MK

Wednesday, December 31st
- Breakfast at Boma's
- Go to AK
- Lunch at Tusker House
- Back to resort to relax
- Go to HS
- Dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby
- Enjoy the NYE festivities

Thursday, January 1st
- Breakfast at Chef Mickey's
- Go to MK
- Head over to Epcot
- Lunch at Teppan Edo
- Dinner at Boma's, though this may change to the Polynesian Luau

Friday, January 2nd
- Go to MK
- Breakfast at Crystal Palace
- Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern
- Go to Epcot
- Dinner at Le Cellier

Saturday, January 3rd
- Return Home

We don't have hours yet for January, so we may shift some things on our last two days a bit. So, there you have it. . .my itinerary changes. I was so glad to add Akershus for our first morning, because we tried it for the first time on our last trip and really enjoyed their breakfast. I had also expected to get a picture with the yellow gowned Belle, a rare photo opportunity, and she unexpectedly got sick. In fact, she wasn't even at her other photo sessions in Epcot later that day, when we waited to get pics with Belle and the Beast. Hopefully, I'll get that picture on this trip.

Of course, we'll be spending time at our resort quite a bit throughout our trip. I mean we're staying at the AKL!!! I still can't get over that. I can't even imagine staying somewhere where we'll see animals outside our room, let alone wherever we go on property. Too cool. We're looking forward to going in the pool and hot tubs. Then, we also want to do some of the cool activities, like animal viewing with night vision and African story telling time at the outside fire pit.

 

[njdisneyfreak]

Well The whole reason I bought them was because me feet were sweating in the mickey crocs one night at work and they didn't match my outfit. So I went to the gift shop and they had my size and color I wanted right on the floor, it was a sign. I really like them because they are open and my feet can breath. I also like the look they so stylish . No, I do like them, though very comfortable. The only thing with the crocs I don't like is that they chew up my socks. I always end up with holes in my heels when the crocs are new!

Well that's one way to discover a new shoe style! I just went on the Crocs website, and I definitely think I'll end up getting a pair of Mary Janes before the trip. But, I absolutely loved the new santa cruz canvas shoe that comes in different colors and designs. I was thinking that if I really like Crocs, I may get some of those for work. It may make standing on my feet for much of my teaching days easier.

 

[wdwgirl03]

We love Sci-Fi too. The concept of a drive-in is great and the movie clips are entertaining. I noticed on our last trip that the wait staff no longer wears roller skates though. I guess one too many accidents, huh?

What do you recommend at Mama Melrose?

I didn't notice that about the wait staff...though I do think I saw one of the hostesses before you go in wearing roller skates.

As for Mama Melrose's...I'm a pretty picky eater so I just ordered spaghetti and meatballs. My dad and sister both had the chicken parmesan and they both enjoyed it. Like most places in WDW, the portions are big! I do recommend the chocolate truffle cake for dessert...we loved that!

 

[njdisneyfreak]

I didn't notice that about the wait staff...though I do think I saw one of the hostesses before you go in wearing roller skates.

As for Mama Melrose's...I'm a pretty picky eater so I just ordered spaghetti and meatballs. My dad and sister both had the chicken parmesan and they both enjoyed it. Like most places in WDW, the portions are big! I do recommend the chocolate truffle cake for dessert...we loved that!

Yummy! Thanks for the tips. Honestly, it's hard to go wrong with anything Italian. That dessert sounds awesome. I love chocolate and I'm trying to picture what that dessert would look like. Who cares? IT'S CHOCOLATE!!! (That's what chocolate does to me.)