ADP - Live From Disney World - Family Holiday Adventure

loving your live report- sounds like fun despite the crowds. it is great disney offers so much that even if you can't do attractions all day, there is so much more to see and experience!:santa:
 
Thursday, Dec. 31st

Hi Everyone,

We are back from our Sunrise Safari experience and morning at the Animal Kingdom. The Sunrise Safari was very nice and about everything I expected. We got to ride a Disney bus and walk around the backstage area of the Animal Kingdom. Unfortunately, no pictures or video in the backstage area. The one thing I found very interesting was a 150 cell tower used by Disney personnel cleverly disguised as a large tree. It was done that way so it would blend into the Animal Kingdom landscape and areas surrounding the park.

We started the Safari at the club lounge at 6:15AM where we had coffee and juice. Our park tickets were scanned by the club lounge staff. After coffee and juice we went down to the main lobby where we met our tour guide/Curator. I recognized him right away as the head Curator of Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. He's been on the Travel Channel specials and promotional videos I've seen over the years. His name was Greg, but his last name escapes me at the moment.
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We were escorted to Disney busses at the front of the resort which took us backstage at the Animal Kingdom. Our Curator Greg was with us telling us facts about his job and the animals. Once we arrived backstage we walked to the back of Africa where we caught the queue line to Kilamanjaro Safaris. We boarded our safari vehicle with Greg and started our adventure.

So, what makes this safari different than the rest you ask? We get to stop at various point through the sarari to take pictures and observe the animals up close. We can't get out of the vehicles, but the animals seem to be more active and some even walk up to our vehicle. We actually heard the lions roar this morning. Pretty cool!

Here are some photos from our safari this morning
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After the safari ended we were escorted through Africa to Pizzafari on Discovery Island for a buffet breakfast. We were in a private room with assigned tables for each family. There were approximately 50 people who attended the Sunrise Safari. That is the capacity for the sarfari.

The chef who prepared the breakfast came out and described the buffet to us and asked if anyone had any allergy concerns.

Here are a couple photos of the buffet. I know its just breakfast and it's hard to mess up cooking breakfast, but this was the best Disney breakfast I've ever had.
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Our Curator, Greg came around the tables during breakfast and asked us if we had any questions. Anna and I asked about insects in the park(s). We were curious why there doesn't seem to be too many insects in the parks during the day. Greg explained a process the resort uses to limit the amount of insects; however, he said they are out there. He also said the hot pavement and colder days (like now) keep them away from guests.

After breakfast we were free to go. It was 9:00AM and we chose to stay at the park for a while. The Animal Kingdom opened at 9:00AM so we thought we could get a couple attractions in before crowds got too heavy. Kim and Anna went to Tough to be a Bug while I went to get Fastpasses for Expedition Everest. Although we probably could have went into the stand-by line I just assumed get fastpasses for later.
I grabbed this photo of Expedition Everest after I got our fastpasses
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After we met back up we did a little shopping and Anna got her face painted for New Years. We also played a few games in Dinoland. It was time for our fastpasses so we rode Expedition Everest.

After we rode Everest we decided to leave. Crowds were picking up considerably. It seemed like we were the only ones leaving the park. We felt like fish swimming upstream trying to get out. :)
As we left the park we saw this sign that signaled the Magic Kingdom was already filled to capacity and closed. The other 3 parks remained open.
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We are now back at the resort. Thank goodness too because I wouldn't want to be out in the crowds today. You could just tell it was going to be one of those days of fighting and dodging hoards of people if we decided to stay longer. We plan to stay at the resort and enjoy the resort amenities. It's warm enough to swim and we may hit the arcade later. We are also considering going to Hollywood Studios late tonight to watch the New Years Eve fireworks.

I'm not sure if I'll post again today. If I don't here's wishing you all a wonderful New Years and a more wonderful 2010!

More to come! :)
 
Thanks Aaron!

One of these days we'll stay at AKL. I'd love to do DVC club level, but I know how tough it is to get if you don't own there. Maybe someday.

Happy New Year to you, Kim, and Anna!
 

Happy New Year to you too Aaron!!!
and thanks for taking us along on your wonderful trip and taking the time to post your reports and beautiful pictures!!! :goodvibes

it's new year here in another hour - i'm heading out the door to do my regular late thursday night grocery shopping.....i'm such a party animal!!
 
Thanks so much for taking the time to post while on vacation. Sitting here in VERY cold, white New York, your updates have been like a little virtual holiday trip for me.:goodvibes Hope you and your family had a lovely New Year's!

Tammy
 
Good Morning Everyone & Happy New Year! :)

Like most of the population here at Walt Disney World we slept in. It's currently raining and we were woke-up by the sound of African bongo drum musicians playing in the lobby of Jambo House. :laughing:
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We decided to spend our evening at the Boardwalk. We hooked up with Shelly at the Boardwalk and spent the evening with her. Thanks Shelly :wave: We planned on heading over to Hollywood Studios, but it didn't work out. The setup at the Boardwalk was really great. They had a DJ spinning tunes from several decades. The lines for food and drink were short. There were even tables and chairs available at times to sit and relax. Considering the crowds at Walt Disney World how can you beat that. I should also mention free hats and blowers were provided by Walt Disney World.
As we were sitting along the Boardwalk I snapped this photo.
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There were several people dancing in the courtyard area of the Boardwalk where the DJ was located.
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Even the children got into the act
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Our daughter Anna had a great time dancing and singing along with the music and DJ. She made it until midnight.
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We did get to see the EPCOT fireworks from a distance. We saw most of them. First they did regular Illuminations, then went around to each country in order of how they celebrated New Years. Each country had an individual firework display over their pavillion. Then there was a grand finally right at midnight over the World Showcase lagoon. I firmly believe seeing the fireworks from the Boardwalk versus inside EPCOT was much better because we avoided the uncomfortable crowds inside the park.

We arrived back to our room around 1:00AM and fell right asleep.

Looking out our room window the rain has cleared and it appears there are some breaks in the clouds. Our evening is open so we are not sure where we will end up. Considering last evening I'm glad we have no plans. :)

I'll have more later on our day. :)
 
What a great way to kick off the New Year!!! Thanks for sharing all these wonderful experiences with us. :hug:
 
What a great time, Aaron. Your trip sounds like you've made it very relaxing. Way to avoid the crowds.
 
Hi everyone,

We are at Hollywood Studios. Crowds are moderate for a holiday. Currently, there is no wait for Star Tours, a 15 minute wait for the Great Movie Ride, and an 80 minute wait on TSM.

We are going to check out the Osborne Lights after we grab some food.

More later :)
 
Friday, Jan 1st

Hi Everyone,

We are back from our day at Hollywood Studios. Apparently, I'm not taking my own advice and not staying away from the parks. We were there most of the day today. The reason was the crowds weren't too bad today. It rained most of the morning and the temperartures were on the chilly side. That really helped keep crowds at bay.

Here's a look at a very quiet Hollywood Blvd when we arrived today
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We were able to get fastpassed for TSM today at 1:00PM. The return time was 7:20PM. Once we got fastpasses we decided we'd spend the day at DHS. We did various activities like see Lightning McQueen and Tow Mator, Mike and Sulley, rode Star Tours, The Great Movie Ride, and saw Muppets 4-D. We ate at the Sci-Fi Dine In as a walk-up. We only waited 5 minutes for a table. We also saw the Osborne Lights.

Anna with Lightning McQueen and Tow Mator
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Mike and Sulley from Monster's Inc.
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We also managed to do a little shopping. One of my favorite shops in Hollywood Studios is this Christmas shop near Muppet Square
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at 4:00PM a band took over the stage in front of the Scorcerer Mickey's hat. They were a rock n' roll band who got the crowd excited for the new year.
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Later in the afternoon we dined at the Sci-Fi Dine-In. It was a quick meal because we didn't each much during the day. I had a Ruben while Kim had a chicken sandwich. The food was very good, but certainly nothing to write home about. It was basic fare. Our total bill for the 3 of us was $54. The 20% Tables of Wonderland was not accepted today because it's a holiday. Our waiter was really good. He was very attentive and very kind. He even made a mickey out of ketchup for Anna.
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As I mentioned earlier. We were able to walk-up and get a table. The restaurant didn't appear full. The Sci-Fi is not my first choice for dining in DHS, but since it had tables we decided to give it a try.

After dinner we walked around the corner to see the Osborne Lights. Surprisingly, the Streets of America were not crowded at all. It was a bit chilly, but it was a great night to view the lights.
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After we viewed the lights it was time for our Toy Story fastpass. We entered the TSM fastpass queue at 7:24 and didn't make it to our ride vehicle until 7:50. That's 26 minutes and really too long to wait when you have a fastpass. The standby line was 80 minutes, but even so fastpasses should move quicker than 26 minutes. Disney markets their fastpass system for little to no wait, but it didn't work that way for us during this attraction.

I ended up with a score of 226,000. The high score for the day was 354,000. An amazing score. It makes 226,000 look meager. What a great ride though.
Here's Anna in the TSM queue while we waited in line
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After our ride on TSM we decided to head out for the day. Before we left we stopped in Sid's of Hollywood near the exit. Anna wanted to answer the 5 questions on the board. We walked into the store and the Cast Member asked Anna the 5 questions. She answered them all right and received this certificate.
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We arrived back at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in time for evening desserts and drinks.

Tomorrow we are not sure what we are going to do. We've talked about going to the Magic Kingdom or going over to Winter Summerland for miniature golf. We don't have any solid plans....yet! :)

More to come! :)
 
I love Sid in HS, John bought me a signed Snow White for christmas.
Glad Anna got a certificate for getting all the answers right.
You are right about the fast pass line 26 minutes is too long to wait.
I also noticed once when we were there the fast pass line was waiting and they were letting the stand by line go through.
Happy New Year! :)

We did winter/summerland with the boys and we all had a lot of fun, I am sure Anna will love it.
 
:scared1:26 MINUTES for fast pass line??!??!?!?!??!?! that's too much for a fast pass line, I totally agree with you!
BTW are you planning to hit universal this trip?
 
amazing that the park wasn't more crowded than that on new years day..
i guess what they say is true, the parks get very light from the beginning of january on...i just never realized that included new years day...

thanks for the wonderful pictures, including the great shots of the family!!!
 
HEY!! I know that jacket!

This is a fantastic pic of your family, BTW!
Thanks Mindy! That's the jacket. BTW, I bought a new on this trip to replace this one. And we wish you a Happy Birthday!

Loving your TR - living your moments !

BTW your family looks great !

:cool1:
Thank You!

I love Sid in HS, John bought me a signed Snow White for christmas.
Glad Anna got a certificate for getting all the answers right.
You are right about the fast pass line 26 minutes is too long to wait.
I also noticed once when we were there the fast pass line was waiting and they were letting the stand by line go through.
Happy New Year! :)

We did winter/summerland with the boys and we all had a lot of fun, I am sure Anna will love it.
Thanks Katherine. Sorry we missed you this trip. I sent John a PM. Congrats on the Snow White purchase. Pretty cool. We did Winter/Summerland. It was a lot of fun.

:scared1:26 MINUTES for fast pass line??!??!?!?!??!?! that's too much for a fast pass line, I totally agree with you!
BTW are you planning to hit universal this trip?
No Universal this trip, but we are planning a couple nights there this Summer.

one question - where is jambo house? is it part of the original AKL or a separate building?
Jambo House is the original Animal Kingdom Lodge. The new building is called Kidani Village and entirely a DVC building. We are staying in the Jambo House.
 
Saturday, Jan 2nd

Hi Everyone,

We are back from our day at Winter Summerland and the Magic Kingdom. We had breakfast in the club lounge and headed to the bus depot where we caught the Hollywood Studios/Blizzard Beach bus. We were heading to Winter Summerland first. Winter Summerland is located near the Biizzard Beach parking lot.
When we arrived at 10:30 we weren't too surprised to see only one car in the Blizzard Beach parking lot. It was pretty chilly this morning.
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We find Winter Summerland to be the better of the two Disney mini golf courses. We decided to stay in the holiday spirit and play the Winter course.
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The course is very well maintained; however, it would cost a family of 3 $36.50 to play 18 holes. That's a pretty hefty price for 18 holes of mini golf. Because we are annual passholders we got 50% off our round, so we only paid $18.25. That's more reasonable in my opinion.

We left Winter Summerland and decided to go to the Magic Kingdom. We took the bus from Bizzard Beach to the Polynesian. I was glad we had a chance to visit the Polynesian because we really like this resort.
Here's a photo inside the lobby
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We walked upstairs and caught the monorail. We decided to stop at the Grand Floridian on the way and take a look at the gingerbread house in the lobby. The store inside the gingerbread house is closed, but the house is still up for guest viewing. The house is made of mostly gingerbread shingles and icing. You can smell the scent of gingerbread from far away.
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After we viewed the Grand Floridian decorations we jumped back on the monorail and headed for the Magic Kingdom. I could tell by the crowd inside the monorail the Magic Kingdom would be crowded. When we arrived on Main St. it was obvious the park was crowded.
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We did manage to get fastpasses for Buzz Lightyear and rode that later. We also got to ride TTA and watched a Laugh Floor show. We stopped and got ice cream at the ice cream parlor despite the barely 60 degree temps. Anna did some pin trading with cast members along Main St. We also had lunch at Cosmic Rays where cast members were directing guests in and out specific doors and seating was very limited because of the crowds. There was a line queue guests used when they first walked into the restaurant. Once you left the queue you went to your bay to order. The lines at the bays were very long as well.

We are now back at AKL. We plan on going down to the club lounge to get some food and drink. We are also getting a few things together because we are leaving on Monday to head back home.

I'll have more later. :)
 

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