A Splash Of Wonder & A Dash Of Christmas Cheer: A Trip Report With Pictures

[Disneygrl36]

Hi Tiggerspal....I am glad you found me. Meeting up with so many Disers sounds great & getting to have a party in the Walt suite. WOW. Did I understand you right...you are staying in the Roy suite on your trip???? I am putting in my request now for lots of pictures. I hope to meet up with some fellow Disers on this next cruise. I met no one on this past one & I am sure it would be great to make new friends. I found the thread for my next cruise & posted on it last night...we will see.

Thanks tjeagle...although I don't like making other people sad. I can't believe it will be 10 months before I get to post another trippie....don't think anyone on here would be interested in reading about my beach trip.

Oh no Beth..that's terrible. Bad, bad birds. She was pretty scared, but I think it's a cute picture of her.

Welcome emememem......glad you have enjoyed my trip too!!!! I know I live vicariously through other people's trips all the time.

I will try to get the last day...sum up post on here tomorrow!!!

Have a Happy New Year everyone.

 

[Disneygrl36]

We rested well & woke up knowing we would have to leave today. I had made reservations for Olivia’s Café at Old Key West for our very last Disney meal. DMom had decided to sleep in instead of joining us for breakfast. So, we got up & got ready & took a nice walk to the front…it was warmer this morning….of course it was, we were leaving. As an aside, we always seem to have the unseasonably warm or cold weather wherever we go.

We had a lovely breakfast at Olivia’s.

The servings were huge & we enjoyed our pancakes & bacon tremendously. It was a nice relaxing meal. We went to the general store to get a few last minute gifts & things that we had forgotten to pick up at the parks. We used up our leftover snack credits from the Disney Dining Plan to purchase boxes of Disney cookies for me to bring home to my co-workers. We could never have eaten all those snacks & all the food that comes with lunch & dinner with the DDP. We felt like we got good value out of the plan though & will probably get it again if it is still being offered on our next trip.

We enjoyed a bit more browsing around…..went over to the pool area & saw that even the dolphins were celebrating Christmas.

Me with the lighthouse.

Here is the last picture I took at Disney.

We took DMom back breakfast & finished up our packing before calling bell services to get our luggage. Magical Express was picking us up at 11:30 as our flight was at 2:30. That left us with a little more time at the airport than we liked, but I guess since it’s a free service we can’t complain. A Mear’s bus picked us up instead of the cute Magical Express bus & it was a little bit smelly. The bus driver was funny though & was asking lots of Disney trivia type questions & before we knew it we were at the airport getting ready to head home. We waited in terminal B for most of our time because the gate area we have to wait is always packed & not very comfortable. We grabbed a bite for lunch & I wrote in my journal. Before too long, we boarded the plane & headed back home. We had an uneventful flight thank goodness. Took DMom home & DDad was still excited & talking about how much he enjoyed the trip & especially the cruise. We then headed home, unpacked, loved on our baby (a 3 year old Miniature Pinscher) & did some laundry before falling into bed exhausted & knowing we had to go back to work the next day.

It was a wonderful trip from start to finish.

Here’s Princess Potato Head to say we had a magical time…

I will have a final sum it all up installment with my final thoughts coming up….

 

[Disneygrl36]

Well, we have been home 3 weeks now & as always, once you come home from a trip it is always a little bit sad. You have planned for months & anticipated all the great times you will have & built everything up in your mind. A lot of times, the trip doesn’t live up to all your expectations, but I can honestly say that this one did. All the planning worked out well. We were able to eat at the places we wanted & did most of the things that were on our list. The problem with a trip though is that there is just never enough time to do all the things you want to do…so we did not make it to Jellyrolls or the Irish Pub at Downtown Disney & we could not cram everything in at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party that we wanted to see. But all in all, the mission was accomplished.

*Magical Express was new to us this trip & worked well.
*Transportation was good except the monorail craziness that we experienced. We had a car last year in October when we went & for resort to resort transportation I think a car still can’t be beat, but since we were only at WDW a total of 4 days this trip, the buses worked fine for us.
*DVC Accommodations ROCK!!!! We had stayed in studios before, but since the parental units went along this time we stayed in 2 bedroom units & they were HUGE especially at Old Key West. We will be getting a week at the beach in return for using our points for the bigger unit too, so that is pretty cool.
*Disney Cruise Line is AWESOME!!!! I can’t say enough about what a great time we had on the ship. The food was delicious. The entertainment was wonderful. We enjoyed everything & really experienced a wide variety of things on the 4 night cruise, so I look forward to even more fun on the 7 night cruise.
Gratuitous picture of one the most beautiful ships sailing the waters….

*Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party was a BLAST!!!! If you are at WDW during one of these separate ticket events GO. They are so much fun & this really put us in the Christmas spirit.
*Disney Dining Plan was new for us & worked well too!!!! We figured there is no way it didn’t save us money, but there was a lot of food to eat-which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it.
*Year of a Million Dreams….we didn’t really experience anything special with this. I am sure there are people that got sprinkled with lots of pixie dust, it just wasn’t us. But, we were having fun anyway & didn’t expect anything. I don’t think I would go with any expectations though as you might be disappointed.
*New additions to the parks….Nemo & Friends aka Living Seas was ok. Cute little ride with cool effects with the fish seeming like they were in the big tank. Seemed like less fish in the tanks to me though.
Expedition Everest one word AWESOME!!!! If you like thrill rides you will love this.
Nemo show was SPECTACULAR.
I give the new things a big thumbs up.
This is one the reasons it is so much fun to go back to WDW…there always seems to be something new to see or do!!!!

It was such a fun time & I have had a great time writing this report & reliving our trip through doing it. I hope you all have enjoyed it as much as I have & I can’t wait to go on another trip so I can do it all over again. Thanks so much for reading along & for all the kind words.

A few left overs to finish up….
These are our other pictures purchased at Shutters….
Welcome Aboard

On Deck..the photographer did not cut of DH head...I did taking a picture of the picture.

Christmas Tree

Here’s the loot we brought back from the trip….I think we did pretty good this time. I usually buy way too much stuff….but we didn’t have as much time for shopping this trip.

Here’s our baby with her gift…a new collar. We hoped they would have a new one, but they still had the same design we had bought her 3 years ago & it was getting worn out….so she got a NEW old necklace. Her name is Bella & she is one spoiled dog.

So, I guess that just about wraps it up….
You have seen these 2 pictures before, but I think they are the perfect way to end.

&

I’ll be back writing another trip report after our Oct Halloween cruise.
For now…..So long.

 

[swankybeth]

Great report, I really enjoyed reading it. Bella is such a cutie!

 

[Fairy_Tale_Bride]

I have never heard of Olivia's! It looks like a cute place! I think I'm going to have to add it to the list!

Your TR was fantastic! I loved looking at all the suff you bought! I love the Castaway Cay shirt! I cannot wait to buy one! I really want one of those pillows too, like your Goofy one, but Mickey! The Pluto one is pretty cute too!

I cannot wait for you to go on another WDW adventure! I want another Trippie! Good things come to those who wait!

 

[MA pigletfan]

LOVED your TR!! Like I told FTB, I really need to get to WDW for the holidays..the decorations and the parades look so fun..as does the cruise..maybe with a little magic next year....

 

[Philadisney]

I loved your TR & all your pictures, thanks for sharing your lovely trip!!

 

[tubachick]

enjoyed your report. Glad you had a good time.

THANKS for SHARING!!!

 

[Jennifer48]

I loved Everest! That has to be my new favorite ride!

I can't wait til my cruise in September. I don't know why I book things so far in advance. The anticipation kills me!!

Thanks again for sharing your report and photos. I can't wait to read the Oct cruise one!

 

[Disneygrl36]

You guys are the best....you are more than welcome. I really did enjoy writing this report & am that it is over.

Thanks Swankybeth..we think Bella is pretty cute too!! She certainly is spoiled.

Olivia's was good Lindsey & if you get over to Old Key West you must try it...although I only had breakfast, but I have heard good things about the other meals too.

Here's some for MA piglet fan to get you to WDW at Christmas. It really is a beautiful time of year to go.

Tubachick & philadisney ....we had a blast. Glad you enjoyed it.

I know Jennifer48...I do the same thing to myself. Book way in advance & then have to wait patiently (or not so patiently) for the trip to get here. But, that just means more time on the DIS to tied me over until my next trip.

I will be glad to write another trippie when Oct/Nov rolls around. I will be so ready for some Disney MAGIC by then.

I didn't get around to scrap booking any this weekend....but when I do, if you all want to see I will post a few pages here.

Did anyone notice that I gave the princess potatohead Mickey ears by accident?

 

[jrose529]

Great TR Melanie! OKW is our home resort and we love Olivia's also. We go on the 4 day Wonder and 3 days at OKW in April. Your trippie has really put me in the mood. I also loved your potato head pics. Your baby is a cutie also.

Thanks!

 

[mom2my3kids]

Love your report, we are hoping for a cruise when my youngest gets a bit older.

 

[Babs417]

I hope to see you on the Oct 27 cruise.Ill be their I cant wait to read that report

 

[ReAnSt]

I have that Castaway Cay shirt and it sadly it is two sizes too big . like most of my Disney clothing. It is my favorite Disney shirt and I plan on sewing the design on a smaller sized shirt once I get closer to my goal weight or sewing the design on something else.

I enjoyed reading the rest of your trip report. Sounds like you had a fantastic trip.

 

[Disneygrl36]

Hi jrose529....I hope you have a great trip in April. We really like OKW & will stay there again in the future I am sure. Our home resort is Hilton Head & we are about to add on points at Saratoga Springs so that will be HOME too!! I love the DVC!!

mom2my3kids....you will have a blast when you decide to cruise with your kids. I wish I could go to the clubs!!!!

Hiya Babs.....can't wait to meet ya when we cruise in October. Woo hoo!!!! I promise to write another trippie....and who knows you might even make a cameo appearance.

Becky.....it's funny you should say that about your t-shirt. I just went through my clothes & had to get rid of alot of my stuff too....loosing weight will do that for you. I cut out my favorite Disney designs & hope to get them made into a quilt or something...I thought that would be a neat way to keep them. Thanks for reading!!!!

 

[mruhaak]

OMG!
I love your Miniature Pinscher. She is a Min Pin isn't she?
I used to have minpins! They were my babies too before my boys came along. So we share more than just a name!

Good job on your trip report!
Looks like you'll be cruising again before me, so I'll look forward to another report from you before I go on mine!

-The Other Melanie

 

[kimwim8]

GREAT report! Thanks so much for sharing!!

 

[disneyworldluvr349]

subbing

 

[Disneygrl36]

OMG!
I love your Miniature Pinscher. She is a Min Pin isn't she?
I used to have minpins! They were my babies too before my boys came along. So we share more than just a name!

Good job on your trip report!
Looks like you'll be cruising again before me, so I'll look forward to another report from you before I go on mine!
-The Other Melanie

All together now..It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all.
We share a name & love of the same kind of dog. WOW!!!!
I love my mini-pin..she is just right for us!!!!
I can't wait for my next cruise!!!! I will write another report because this has been so fun!!:

 

[Disneygrl36]

Not sure if anyone would want to see these or not....but if you do here they are.....
I have worked on my scrapbooking today & got a few pages done.

Title page

EPCOT day page

Waiting to cruise page

Christmas decorations page

Welcome Aboard page

Day one cruise page

Misc. cruise page