NYDisneyGal
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2007
- Messages
- 76
This is sort of a no-frills kinda trip report compared to what I've seen here on the boards, but it's great to document a trip in this way!
Most of our Disney trips have been during Thanksgiving week, so we are used to relatively large crowds and have learned how to navigate the parks. We now have a son in college, so Thanksgiving is no longer an option (our sons are 19, 17, and 9). This was our first Christmas trip; we are DVC members and we stayed at Saratoga Springs from 12/20 through 12/28. I was very concerned that the parks would be mobbed when we were there, but we were pleasantly surprised to find the parks typically busy but not crazy by any means.
This is our 9th Disney trip as a family, and even though we are Disney veterans there were new experiences for us every day of the trip. Its always fun and great just to be all together in one place enjoying the sunshine and parks. Heres a summary of the new things we tried, learned, or re-learned during this last stay:
Rope drop - as hard as it is to drag the troops (and myself) out of bed early, it is well worth the effort, especially when the parks are busy (when arent they?). Combining rope drop days with sleep-in days is definitely the way to make the most of a Disney trip. If you want to sleep in every day, Disney isnt the place for you.
Earl of Sandwich we had never eaten here before but DS#2 had tried it on a band trip and recommended it. The Original is probably one of the best $5.99 sandwiches Ive ever had, and the broccoli cheddar soup is terrific. The menu includes great salads with tasty croutons that you can opt to have served as a large wrap. They have fresh fruit cups, yogurt parfaits, pudding, and really good baked treats available as well. Our family of 5 ate heartily (and pretty healthy) for about $45-50 (we asked for cups for water and that saved a bit .). Its going to be on our must-do list (probably attached to a Ghirardelli dessert run from time to time).
Teppan Edo we had never eaten here before either but did so as part of our Candelight Processional package. I wouldnt eat here again. Its relatively expensive, the food was pretty bland and my steak was inconsistent some pieces were well done, others were almost raw. My sons liked the salad. The ginger cake was ok, and the ice cream was good but the portion was small. Is soft serve ice cream really a genuine Japanese dessert? Our chef was nice and did a good job with the show aspect of a Japanese steakhouse, but it wasnt fancier than anything outside of Disney I expected more magic in the presentation. In summary, our dining experience at Teppan Edo was truly disappointing the furniture and equipment looked aged and worn, the food was sub-par and uncreative, and the restaurant just doesnt seem to fit on Disney property. The best thing we can say about this restaurant is that the staff honored the Japanese culture with etiquette and courtesy.
Candlelight Processional This was a first for us, and it really is very well-done and very moving. We all enjoyed it very much and it was even more special because it was Christmas Eve. I would do it again, with a different restaurant. Even if you have the dining package people started lining up almost an hour early. I cant imagine how long those in the standby line were waiting to see the show, and I dont know how many made it in.
American Idol Experience Im not sure how many times weve walked by this attraction without even pausing, but we decided to see a show and got hooked right away. They do a really good job with this, right down to casting good, not-to-cheesy AI-type judges (Randy, Simon, Paula). We had to see this again because DH was suspicious that one of the contestants was really a CM. Then, of course, we had seen two finalists so we HAD to watch the finale show at 7 pm. It was entertaining and a great way to be inside off of your feet for 30 minutes or so. We are still unsure whether they use CMs to fill in the line-up on days when they dont have a ton of talent audition .
Single rider opportunities There are specific single rider lines at Rock n Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios, Everest at AK, and Test Track in Epcot. In some other locations (Mission Space and Toy Story Mania) CMs will move through the standby line asking for single riders to come to the front. When your party is old enough, these can save you a huge amount of time. As long as youve experienced the attraction enough times as a group to get the story behind it, this is a really good thing to do. Waits at RnR were 70-100 minutes one day and we were able to ride 2X in an hour using single rider. Almost as good as a fastpass!
Water At many counter-service restaurants the price of a bottle of water is $2.69, I think. We used to buy water with our meals all the time, unless the kids wanted chocolate milk (which they often do). At many CS places, however, if you just ask for a cup of water, theyll give you a small soda-size Disney paper cup with ice, water, and a lid for no extra charge. I dont know why weve never asked for this before, but we started on this trip and it saved us around $10 on each CS meal (depending on who needed their chocolate milk fix). Im sure we saved over $100 for the week.
Park Hopping We purchased 7-day park hoppers for our family this trip, but I think we only actually hopped on 2 days. The cooler weather may have contributed to this. If you plan well, Im not sure that park hopping is really needed. My husband will disagree with me on this one, probably.
For those that want all the details, heres the full itinerary of our magical week, as best as I can recall. One more tip before you start, however. If you plan to write a trip report like this, its best to take notes of your activities each day while you are there!
Monday 12/20 Arrival Day. We arrived at Saratoga Springs around noon. We checked in and were able to get a great room location in The Springs. Our room was not yet ready, so we bought park tickets and headed to Magic Kingdom got a fastpass for Space Mountain for 11:00 pm, then rode Stitch, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates. We had lunch at Cosmic Rays to get our Disney burger fix out of the way. Our room was now ready, so we headed back to the resort to get unpacked and relax a little bit. We headed back to MK late thinking wed take advantage of EMH (12 3 am). We saw some of Spectro while trying to make our way into the park. Went to Columbia Harbor House for some clam chowder, then went to use our FP for Space. The wait for Buzz was almost an hour, so we did the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor (no wait there). After traveling most of the day before, we were all a bit tired and no one wanted to wait in any lines (and it was chilly) so we headed back to the resort.
Tuesday 12/21 Hollywood Studios Day we arrived 15-20 minutes after opening and got fastpasses for TSM at 11:30; the wait was already over an hour for this ride. We stayed here all day, riding TOT 5 times, RnR 3 times (used the single rider line for 2 of these a great way to bypass an 70 min. wait!), Toy Story (using the FP) saw the American Idol show for the first time and loved it, had lunch at Pizza Planet, watched Mulch, Sweat, and Shears a couple of times, and stayed to watch the American Idol finale show at 7 b/c we enjoyed it so much. By 8 pm we were all tired and hungry we returned to the resort and drove to Olive Garden for a hearty dinner.
Wednesday 12/22 Epcot Day We arrived prior to opening when they let us into future world my husband went to get FPs for Soarin (return time 9:30) while the rest of us rode Test Track. DH caught up to us after 1 Test Track run and we rode TT again. The boys all rode Mission Space once, then rode it again this time volunteering to be single riders and bypassing a 30 minute wait. DH and I learned how to play the video game near the exit of Mission Space while we were waiting wed watched it but never played before, and it was really quite fun Enough time had elapsed so we were able to get fastpasses for Test Track. We went over to see Captain EO, had lunch at Sunshine Seasons (snuck in right before noon and used the 30% discount), used our Soarin FPs, watched some entertainment (Jammitors), used our Test Track FPs, and returned to the resort for some pool time and a nap. Around 6 pm we drove to the Contemporary for dinner at the California Grill always a favorite of ours (I had the pork tenderloin this time and it was one of the best meals Ive ever had). After dinner we took pictures from the contemporary, then drove to Downtown Disney our son was dying to use a Christmas gift card at Ridemakerz and we decided to get there early in the week to avoid crowds. It was a neat experience and the place was not busy at all we went back again after Christmas for more bling for his car and it was not crowded then, either.
Thursday 12/23 Animal Kingdom Day - we arrived AK for rope drop - my husband went around through Dinoland and took pictures of the rope drop team as they came toward Everest after he already had his fastpasses, of course. We then rode Everest 4 times in a row, in the front each time, until we were frozen. Rode Dinosaur 2 times, saw Festival of the Lion King, rode Kilamanjaro Safari, and walked through to see the animals in the Jungle Trek. We had a nice lunch at Tamu Tamu (using the 30% discount). Went back and used our FPs for Everest rode 2 more times before the lines started to build up. It was time for a resort/pool break. We then went to Downtown Disney and discovered Earl of Sandwich for dinner. I cant explain why we havent eaten there before but it was really good, and relatively inexpensive we all loved it!
Friday 12/24 Christmas Eve was a sleep in day, since we had CP reservations and planned to see Illuminations. We arrived at Epcot around noon, got fastpasses for Test Track for 8ish. We watched the Jammitors, took some photos, and arrived for lunch at Teppan Edo at 2:15. Our 9-year old loves our local Japanese steakhouses and we were interested to try this restaurant (it was also the only available ADR on Xmas Eve for the CP package when I called the day they became available). This dinner was a pretty big disappointment, although my sons enjoyed the salad very much. The food was pretty bland and my steak quite underdone. I wouldnt go back. We had reservations for the first CP at 5:00, so we hung out in that area of world showcase, watched the Taiko drummers, the American drum and bugle corps, and shopped. We realized that at 4 pm people with the dining package were already lining up for CP, so we joined the line around 4:15 and ended up getting great seats. This was our first CP and it was really very well done and a great thing to do on Christmas Eve. After CP we caught the end of a MoRockin show, and my sons were interested in the Zendrum they used, so we hung out and waited to watch their next show too (I think the men in my family quite enjoyed the belly dancer, too). Went over to see the British Invasion group we had seen them in the past and enjoyed them as well, but their talent this year seemed to be a bit lacking. We headed over to use our FPs for Test Track, played a bit of the video game at Mission Space to kill some time in a warm building, then headed to the special viewing area for Illuminations. This is a different view than we had seen previously and the show seemed quite different to me we usually view from a spot near Canada. I would have enjoyed this more if it hadnt been so cold and windy that night, but it was worth staying for.
Saturday 12/25 Christmas Day! We slept in until our 9-year old couldnt take it anymore; Santa somehow managed to find us in our resort and we enjoyed a morning of opening gifts and a leisurely breakfast in the room. We planned today as a Hollywood Studios day - arrived there around 1:30. All fastpasses for TSM were gone (knew they would be), so we got a FP at RnR for 8:30. We did TOT, then rode RnR twice using the single rider line about a 30 minute wait each time. We saw Mulch, Sweat, and Shears play, did the Great Movie Ride, saw American Idol, Mulch (again, this time on stage in front of the hat), and then had dinner at Brown Derby, which is always good. We all had turkey dinners, which was a similar menu to the Thanksgiving dinner they serve. I was hoping they might have a different holiday menu, but the turkey was very good. We were done with dinner just in time to view the tail-end of the American Idol finale show outside (the wrong person won that day, imho). We saw Indiana Jones, then took our time seeing the Osborne Lights. It was busy there but not shoulder to shoulder crowded by any means. We then used our FP for RnR and did TOT 3 more times. (Well, it was more like 2 ½ times lets just say that they do keep an eye on the security cameras and you are not allowed to mess around on this ride at all ;0 ) We then rode TSM standby the wait for this was about 30 minutes at 11 pm. We could have stayed and done TSM again since there were EMH that night, but everyone was pretty much ready to call it a night and head back to the resort.
Sunday 12/26 My plan for today was to take a break from the parks, relax by the pool and/or take the kids to a water park. The weather did not cooperate with this plan, however! It was very cold, so we took our time in the room getting dressed, having breakfast, and playing with our gifts. Around noon we headed out to DisneyQuest we had a lot of fun there it was pretty busy, but we were able to play the Alien Invasion game several times, did the Astro Orbiter, Aladdin, Pirates, and a variety of other games before my youngest discovered Cyberspace Mountain. We hadnt done this before, and it was pretty fun. We all made our own coasters and took turns jumping into the line to ride with each other. For dinner, we went to Planet Hollywood got a walk-up around 5 pm with just a 10 minute wait. My husband then wanted to drive to the outlets, hoping to find a 2010 Disney pin at the Disney outlet store we had been unable to find a 2010 pin anywhere in the parks everything was already 2011 unless you wanted an old Halloween pin. The good news is that we made it to the outlets and, after asking, we were able to get several different 2010 pins some as low as $2.99! The bad news is that the outlets on the day after Christmas are insanely busy, and traffic getting back to the resort was a nightmare. It was quite amusing seeing the odd places people hard parked in medians, by the side of the road, on top of sprinkler systems that had now turned on for the night. When we made it back (45 minutes to go ½ mile?), Ghirardellis at Downtown Disney was our last stop. The cold weather worked in our favor here no lines, and we were easily able to get a table to enjoy our dessert.
Monday 12/27 Magic Kingdom rope drop Since we had only spent part of a day at MK, our 9-year old really wanted to go back and do more attractions here. Now rope drop veterans, we were up and out at 6:15 to catch a bus for EMH at MK. I was expecting big crowds but it was VERY cold that morning and there were only a handful of families waiting most were watching the train ceremony and when the park opened, we casually walked down an empty main street thats always a pretty cool thing to do. We got a FP for Space Mountain and then rode it 3 times in a row, walking on each time with no wait. We did the same for Buzz (3X, no wait), then saw Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, did Big Thunder Mountain twice (it was just too cold to do it again, there was no line), Pirates, Jungle Cruise (why not?), used our FP for Space Mountain (the wait was 30 minutes at 10 am) and then saw Stitch for good measure. We were leaving as hoards of people were streaming into the park. We did have one minor tragedy as we left we were waiting to get back to Saratoga Springs but the bus that pulled up at our stop was a one-way bus. Another driver from the other side of the loading station called to our group (there were 2 other families waiting) and told us he could take us directly to our resort stops. This was great! We all hustled across to the bus, eager to get in from the cold. As we sat down, DS#2 looked at us and said wheres Josh? We looked at each other and realized that in our dash to the new bus we had left our 9-year standing bewildered at the real bus stop. We looked out the bus window and saw him dialing the extra cell phone that my husband had let him use while we were on the trip. We were fortunately able to get off of our bus and go collect him he was rather upset that we had just dashed off and left him, and we were kind of having a little too much fun regarding the incident at his expense - he wouldnt even sit near us on the bus. We did, however, realize that him having that cell phone and knowing how to call/text us was a pretty good thing. No harm done overall, and it makes for a good family remember when kind of story. We were back at the resort by 11 am for a late breakfast, followed by a long nap. The sun was out, it was almost 50 degrees and it was our last day so we headed to the pool/hot tub and enjoyed the sun we were pretty much the only ones brave enough to do so, but it was nice. For dinner, it was Earl of Sandwich again the hot sandwich and soup were just right on a cold day. We did some shopping, then decided we had just enough time to get to HS to see the days American Idol finale show and ride Tower of Terror just one last time (all of us behaved ourselves this time .).
Tuesday 12/28 Departure Day. We began the long drive back to Southern Indiana around 10 am. Georgia is a really big state, and seems to be known for its peaches, pecans, and porn. If you believe the billboards, anyway
Most of our Disney trips have been during Thanksgiving week, so we are used to relatively large crowds and have learned how to navigate the parks. We now have a son in college, so Thanksgiving is no longer an option (our sons are 19, 17, and 9). This was our first Christmas trip; we are DVC members and we stayed at Saratoga Springs from 12/20 through 12/28. I was very concerned that the parks would be mobbed when we were there, but we were pleasantly surprised to find the parks typically busy but not crazy by any means.
This is our 9th Disney trip as a family, and even though we are Disney veterans there were new experiences for us every day of the trip. Its always fun and great just to be all together in one place enjoying the sunshine and parks. Heres a summary of the new things we tried, learned, or re-learned during this last stay:
Rope drop - as hard as it is to drag the troops (and myself) out of bed early, it is well worth the effort, especially when the parks are busy (when arent they?). Combining rope drop days with sleep-in days is definitely the way to make the most of a Disney trip. If you want to sleep in every day, Disney isnt the place for you.
Earl of Sandwich we had never eaten here before but DS#2 had tried it on a band trip and recommended it. The Original is probably one of the best $5.99 sandwiches Ive ever had, and the broccoli cheddar soup is terrific. The menu includes great salads with tasty croutons that you can opt to have served as a large wrap. They have fresh fruit cups, yogurt parfaits, pudding, and really good baked treats available as well. Our family of 5 ate heartily (and pretty healthy) for about $45-50 (we asked for cups for water and that saved a bit .). Its going to be on our must-do list (probably attached to a Ghirardelli dessert run from time to time).
Teppan Edo we had never eaten here before either but did so as part of our Candelight Processional package. I wouldnt eat here again. Its relatively expensive, the food was pretty bland and my steak was inconsistent some pieces were well done, others were almost raw. My sons liked the salad. The ginger cake was ok, and the ice cream was good but the portion was small. Is soft serve ice cream really a genuine Japanese dessert? Our chef was nice and did a good job with the show aspect of a Japanese steakhouse, but it wasnt fancier than anything outside of Disney I expected more magic in the presentation. In summary, our dining experience at Teppan Edo was truly disappointing the furniture and equipment looked aged and worn, the food was sub-par and uncreative, and the restaurant just doesnt seem to fit on Disney property. The best thing we can say about this restaurant is that the staff honored the Japanese culture with etiquette and courtesy.
Candlelight Processional This was a first for us, and it really is very well-done and very moving. We all enjoyed it very much and it was even more special because it was Christmas Eve. I would do it again, with a different restaurant. Even if you have the dining package people started lining up almost an hour early. I cant imagine how long those in the standby line were waiting to see the show, and I dont know how many made it in.
American Idol Experience Im not sure how many times weve walked by this attraction without even pausing, but we decided to see a show and got hooked right away. They do a really good job with this, right down to casting good, not-to-cheesy AI-type judges (Randy, Simon, Paula). We had to see this again because DH was suspicious that one of the contestants was really a CM. Then, of course, we had seen two finalists so we HAD to watch the finale show at 7 pm. It was entertaining and a great way to be inside off of your feet for 30 minutes or so. We are still unsure whether they use CMs to fill in the line-up on days when they dont have a ton of talent audition .
Single rider opportunities There are specific single rider lines at Rock n Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios, Everest at AK, and Test Track in Epcot. In some other locations (Mission Space and Toy Story Mania) CMs will move through the standby line asking for single riders to come to the front. When your party is old enough, these can save you a huge amount of time. As long as youve experienced the attraction enough times as a group to get the story behind it, this is a really good thing to do. Waits at RnR were 70-100 minutes one day and we were able to ride 2X in an hour using single rider. Almost as good as a fastpass!
Water At many counter-service restaurants the price of a bottle of water is $2.69, I think. We used to buy water with our meals all the time, unless the kids wanted chocolate milk (which they often do). At many CS places, however, if you just ask for a cup of water, theyll give you a small soda-size Disney paper cup with ice, water, and a lid for no extra charge. I dont know why weve never asked for this before, but we started on this trip and it saved us around $10 on each CS meal (depending on who needed their chocolate milk fix). Im sure we saved over $100 for the week.
Park Hopping We purchased 7-day park hoppers for our family this trip, but I think we only actually hopped on 2 days. The cooler weather may have contributed to this. If you plan well, Im not sure that park hopping is really needed. My husband will disagree with me on this one, probably.
For those that want all the details, heres the full itinerary of our magical week, as best as I can recall. One more tip before you start, however. If you plan to write a trip report like this, its best to take notes of your activities each day while you are there!
Monday 12/20 Arrival Day. We arrived at Saratoga Springs around noon. We checked in and were able to get a great room location in The Springs. Our room was not yet ready, so we bought park tickets and headed to Magic Kingdom got a fastpass for Space Mountain for 11:00 pm, then rode Stitch, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates. We had lunch at Cosmic Rays to get our Disney burger fix out of the way. Our room was now ready, so we headed back to the resort to get unpacked and relax a little bit. We headed back to MK late thinking wed take advantage of EMH (12 3 am). We saw some of Spectro while trying to make our way into the park. Went to Columbia Harbor House for some clam chowder, then went to use our FP for Space. The wait for Buzz was almost an hour, so we did the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor (no wait there). After traveling most of the day before, we were all a bit tired and no one wanted to wait in any lines (and it was chilly) so we headed back to the resort.
Tuesday 12/21 Hollywood Studios Day we arrived 15-20 minutes after opening and got fastpasses for TSM at 11:30; the wait was already over an hour for this ride. We stayed here all day, riding TOT 5 times, RnR 3 times (used the single rider line for 2 of these a great way to bypass an 70 min. wait!), Toy Story (using the FP) saw the American Idol show for the first time and loved it, had lunch at Pizza Planet, watched Mulch, Sweat, and Shears a couple of times, and stayed to watch the American Idol finale show at 7 b/c we enjoyed it so much. By 8 pm we were all tired and hungry we returned to the resort and drove to Olive Garden for a hearty dinner.
Wednesday 12/22 Epcot Day We arrived prior to opening when they let us into future world my husband went to get FPs for Soarin (return time 9:30) while the rest of us rode Test Track. DH caught up to us after 1 Test Track run and we rode TT again. The boys all rode Mission Space once, then rode it again this time volunteering to be single riders and bypassing a 30 minute wait. DH and I learned how to play the video game near the exit of Mission Space while we were waiting wed watched it but never played before, and it was really quite fun Enough time had elapsed so we were able to get fastpasses for Test Track. We went over to see Captain EO, had lunch at Sunshine Seasons (snuck in right before noon and used the 30% discount), used our Soarin FPs, watched some entertainment (Jammitors), used our Test Track FPs, and returned to the resort for some pool time and a nap. Around 6 pm we drove to the Contemporary for dinner at the California Grill always a favorite of ours (I had the pork tenderloin this time and it was one of the best meals Ive ever had). After dinner we took pictures from the contemporary, then drove to Downtown Disney our son was dying to use a Christmas gift card at Ridemakerz and we decided to get there early in the week to avoid crowds. It was a neat experience and the place was not busy at all we went back again after Christmas for more bling for his car and it was not crowded then, either.
Thursday 12/23 Animal Kingdom Day - we arrived AK for rope drop - my husband went around through Dinoland and took pictures of the rope drop team as they came toward Everest after he already had his fastpasses, of course. We then rode Everest 4 times in a row, in the front each time, until we were frozen. Rode Dinosaur 2 times, saw Festival of the Lion King, rode Kilamanjaro Safari, and walked through to see the animals in the Jungle Trek. We had a nice lunch at Tamu Tamu (using the 30% discount). Went back and used our FPs for Everest rode 2 more times before the lines started to build up. It was time for a resort/pool break. We then went to Downtown Disney and discovered Earl of Sandwich for dinner. I cant explain why we havent eaten there before but it was really good, and relatively inexpensive we all loved it!
Friday 12/24 Christmas Eve was a sleep in day, since we had CP reservations and planned to see Illuminations. We arrived at Epcot around noon, got fastpasses for Test Track for 8ish. We watched the Jammitors, took some photos, and arrived for lunch at Teppan Edo at 2:15. Our 9-year old loves our local Japanese steakhouses and we were interested to try this restaurant (it was also the only available ADR on Xmas Eve for the CP package when I called the day they became available). This dinner was a pretty big disappointment, although my sons enjoyed the salad very much. The food was pretty bland and my steak quite underdone. I wouldnt go back. We had reservations for the first CP at 5:00, so we hung out in that area of world showcase, watched the Taiko drummers, the American drum and bugle corps, and shopped. We realized that at 4 pm people with the dining package were already lining up for CP, so we joined the line around 4:15 and ended up getting great seats. This was our first CP and it was really very well done and a great thing to do on Christmas Eve. After CP we caught the end of a MoRockin show, and my sons were interested in the Zendrum they used, so we hung out and waited to watch their next show too (I think the men in my family quite enjoyed the belly dancer, too). Went over to see the British Invasion group we had seen them in the past and enjoyed them as well, but their talent this year seemed to be a bit lacking. We headed over to use our FPs for Test Track, played a bit of the video game at Mission Space to kill some time in a warm building, then headed to the special viewing area for Illuminations. This is a different view than we had seen previously and the show seemed quite different to me we usually view from a spot near Canada. I would have enjoyed this more if it hadnt been so cold and windy that night, but it was worth staying for.
Saturday 12/25 Christmas Day! We slept in until our 9-year old couldnt take it anymore; Santa somehow managed to find us in our resort and we enjoyed a morning of opening gifts and a leisurely breakfast in the room. We planned today as a Hollywood Studios day - arrived there around 1:30. All fastpasses for TSM were gone (knew they would be), so we got a FP at RnR for 8:30. We did TOT, then rode RnR twice using the single rider line about a 30 minute wait each time. We saw Mulch, Sweat, and Shears play, did the Great Movie Ride, saw American Idol, Mulch (again, this time on stage in front of the hat), and then had dinner at Brown Derby, which is always good. We all had turkey dinners, which was a similar menu to the Thanksgiving dinner they serve. I was hoping they might have a different holiday menu, but the turkey was very good. We were done with dinner just in time to view the tail-end of the American Idol finale show outside (the wrong person won that day, imho). We saw Indiana Jones, then took our time seeing the Osborne Lights. It was busy there but not shoulder to shoulder crowded by any means. We then used our FP for RnR and did TOT 3 more times. (Well, it was more like 2 ½ times lets just say that they do keep an eye on the security cameras and you are not allowed to mess around on this ride at all ;0 ) We then rode TSM standby the wait for this was about 30 minutes at 11 pm. We could have stayed and done TSM again since there were EMH that night, but everyone was pretty much ready to call it a night and head back to the resort.
Sunday 12/26 My plan for today was to take a break from the parks, relax by the pool and/or take the kids to a water park. The weather did not cooperate with this plan, however! It was very cold, so we took our time in the room getting dressed, having breakfast, and playing with our gifts. Around noon we headed out to DisneyQuest we had a lot of fun there it was pretty busy, but we were able to play the Alien Invasion game several times, did the Astro Orbiter, Aladdin, Pirates, and a variety of other games before my youngest discovered Cyberspace Mountain. We hadnt done this before, and it was pretty fun. We all made our own coasters and took turns jumping into the line to ride with each other. For dinner, we went to Planet Hollywood got a walk-up around 5 pm with just a 10 minute wait. My husband then wanted to drive to the outlets, hoping to find a 2010 Disney pin at the Disney outlet store we had been unable to find a 2010 pin anywhere in the parks everything was already 2011 unless you wanted an old Halloween pin. The good news is that we made it to the outlets and, after asking, we were able to get several different 2010 pins some as low as $2.99! The bad news is that the outlets on the day after Christmas are insanely busy, and traffic getting back to the resort was a nightmare. It was quite amusing seeing the odd places people hard parked in medians, by the side of the road, on top of sprinkler systems that had now turned on for the night. When we made it back (45 minutes to go ½ mile?), Ghirardellis at Downtown Disney was our last stop. The cold weather worked in our favor here no lines, and we were easily able to get a table to enjoy our dessert.
Monday 12/27 Magic Kingdom rope drop Since we had only spent part of a day at MK, our 9-year old really wanted to go back and do more attractions here. Now rope drop veterans, we were up and out at 6:15 to catch a bus for EMH at MK. I was expecting big crowds but it was VERY cold that morning and there were only a handful of families waiting most were watching the train ceremony and when the park opened, we casually walked down an empty main street thats always a pretty cool thing to do. We got a FP for Space Mountain and then rode it 3 times in a row, walking on each time with no wait. We did the same for Buzz (3X, no wait), then saw Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, did Big Thunder Mountain twice (it was just too cold to do it again, there was no line), Pirates, Jungle Cruise (why not?), used our FP for Space Mountain (the wait was 30 minutes at 10 am) and then saw Stitch for good measure. We were leaving as hoards of people were streaming into the park. We did have one minor tragedy as we left we were waiting to get back to Saratoga Springs but the bus that pulled up at our stop was a one-way bus. Another driver from the other side of the loading station called to our group (there were 2 other families waiting) and told us he could take us directly to our resort stops. This was great! We all hustled across to the bus, eager to get in from the cold. As we sat down, DS#2 looked at us and said wheres Josh? We looked at each other and realized that in our dash to the new bus we had left our 9-year standing bewildered at the real bus stop. We looked out the bus window and saw him dialing the extra cell phone that my husband had let him use while we were on the trip. We were fortunately able to get off of our bus and go collect him he was rather upset that we had just dashed off and left him, and we were kind of having a little too much fun regarding the incident at his expense - he wouldnt even sit near us on the bus. We did, however, realize that him having that cell phone and knowing how to call/text us was a pretty good thing. No harm done overall, and it makes for a good family remember when kind of story. We were back at the resort by 11 am for a late breakfast, followed by a long nap. The sun was out, it was almost 50 degrees and it was our last day so we headed to the pool/hot tub and enjoyed the sun we were pretty much the only ones brave enough to do so, but it was nice. For dinner, it was Earl of Sandwich again the hot sandwich and soup were just right on a cold day. We did some shopping, then decided we had just enough time to get to HS to see the days American Idol finale show and ride Tower of Terror just one last time (all of us behaved ourselves this time .).
Tuesday 12/28 Departure Day. We began the long drive back to Southern Indiana around 10 am. Georgia is a really big state, and seems to be known for its peaches, pecans, and porn. If you believe the billboards, anyway
