allie5
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- Apr 12, 2002
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Part 19 Christmas Day
Main Players
Allie
Neil
Jessamy (4)
Daniel Noah (2)
Nanny Sylvie
Saturday December 25th 2004
OK, I want you to take a deep breathe thats it, now all together in your best Noddy Holder voice, sing it with me IIIIIIITS CHRISTMAAAAAAAAS!!!
Slightly shell shocked by the alarm dingling at 6am we arise to the very rare sight that Daniel was still fast asleep in his cot. Typical the one morning we need him up early! He soon stirs to witness the strange and unusual appearance of his parents up before him!
Also, judging by the noise, there werent snowflakes slowly drifting down from the heavens, but a tremendous rainstorm crashing into the pool. Dont know about raining cats and dogs, it was coming down elephants and rhinos this morning!
Poor Jessie was tormented by the huge pile of presents that we didnt have time for her to open, so we sent both her and Daniel to the front room to play with the monorail whilst we got dressed.
The monorail proved popular for about 30 seconds, until Daniel decided to play Godzilla and lifted the track aloft whilst the monorail was still going. Jessie was furious and within seconds there was warfare going on. Merry flippin Christmas
!
With adults now clothed (waterproof EVERYTHING was the order of the day!), it was time to tackle the wee ones.
Long, long, long ago, mummy had thought it a fabulous wheeze to book a Cinderellas Royal Table breakfast for Christmas morning her other cunning plan, was to dress her daughter in a pretty, sparkly, long Belle dress for the occasion. Of course, when I booked this, back in sunny September, I foolishly assumed that Christmas in Florida would be a sun drenched affair, and that my little girl would be stifling hot in her dress, so would need shorts to change into
.
To nick a phrase from Santa (who enjoyed those Kettle chips and choklits by the way, for thou were all gone this morning
) - HO HO HO. It was touch and go whether The Dress was going to be viable this morning.
Luckily, Nanny Sylvie is the sort that can rustle up haberdashery miracles from nowhere and hastily crafts a hood from a cape we had brought to go with the dress. That, and a few safety pins to stop the white fur lined hem from dragging in the puddles, a thermal vest hidden underneath and we were good to go!
I dress Daniel far less formally in his Buzz Light-year rain mac and we are away by 7am as required.
Well, the weather this morning was terrible. Not only was it raining elephants and rhinos, it was gloomy, overcast and misty to complete the ensemble.
There were very few people on the roads this morning and we arrive at the TTC at 7.20am.
Now, having read all the horror stories about the Magic Kingdom reaching capacity at 8.01am on Christmas Day and that we would be parked in the overflowed overflow car park, we were most amazed at obtaining a car parking slot, on the second row, DIRECTLY opposite the TTC
!
Dead chuffed at that, I guess the weather is putting people off. There is a fairly steady stream of cars coming in behind us, but we are in the first 50 cars in the park this morning. I would guess they opened the parking lot at 7am.
A little Christmas magic, as when we get out of the car, the rain actually lessens from a downpour to a drizzle.
Daniel sits smugly ensconced in his PVC rain covered stroller, whilst the rest of us crowd under Jessies miniscule Bear In The Big Blue House umbrella.
Neil runs off to the store by the ticket booths to see if they sell bigger umbrellas, but they dont. Im waggling my finger at you, Mr Disney .big money making opportunity missed there, mate! You guys need me working for you
!
Make a dash up to the monorail the ferry hasnt even left the Magic Kingdom side of the lake yet, so no chance of standing waiting for that this morning!
There are a fair amount of people on the ramp, and we have to wait for the next monorail to arrive. This doesnt take long, and within 5 minutes we are off.
Once again the security check is pointless and brief, and we are through in seconds. Did the security guy find our baby bag today? No, he didnt, so thats another round of marmite sandwiches infiltrated into the park!
Even though its only 7.30am, the park appears to be open, so we go through and wander up towards Main St. The rain decided its brief respite was enough, and proceeds to come down in torrents again.
I make an easy side step into the shops to keep warm and dry and to avoid the blockage of damp, lost and confused tourists camped out in the middle of Main St consulting their increasingly soggy park maps. NB..I dont class myself as a tourist here, I prefer the term Disney Expert On Vacation
As we wander through the shops, the crowds are getting worse, as everyone is wising up thats warm and dry in here and you cant move.
I bellow out to my troops DO YOU HAVE YOUR EXIT BUDDY? and we manoeuvre in a chain to emerge at the top of Main St at Caseys Corner.
Cant quite work out why there is a massive glut of people outside Caseys so I confidently start our march to the castle.
Ooooh, no I dont, suddenly about 500 people have shouted NO! You cant go up there yet and a CM is despatched to bring us back!
For some reason, the park ISNT open yet, they are doing a rope drop at the end of Main St, but have failed to notice that hundreds of people are emerging from the shops and trying to walk onwards!
CMs frantically get on their walkie talkies to scramble more recruits to block the exit from Caseys, but its like trying to hold back Noahs flood!
This all seems a bit pointless there are thousands of people squashed into Main St and its 7.55am. CMs are shouting that the park is opening at 8am.
We are shepherded to the front of the rope drop, much to the disgruntled folk who were already there and had been for an hour they informed me before swiping me with their soggy maps (no, they didnt, but I could tell they wanted to by the glint in their eyes
).
I could see their point, but it wasnt our fault that Disney had a very shoddy system in place morning. I had no intention of queue jumping, I just took a short cut through the shops!
In the end the CMs gave up and rope dropped. Problem was, they didnt actually HAVE a rope to drop, they just made a silly hand signal, then (when no one stampeded as they expected) shouted Well arent you coming in then to the waiting throng!
I knew they hadnt been given the all clear yet because of all the frantic We had to let em in, there was gonna be a punch up! messages on the walkie talkies!!
Manage to avoid the stampede of folk sprinting towards the Mountains, then laugh, as they all slip over in the puddles . All right, we didnt laugh but I was rubbing my hands together at the £250 I was gonna get from Kirstys Home Videos when I sent it in!
We slowly wander up to the castle. Our PS was for 8.05, so we had 4 minutes to transverse 200 yards. Even in my unfit state, I think we are going to make it!
Fully expecting Cindys to be packed, Im surprised that we are the only solitary family at the podium. We are seated straight away, and Jessie has no time to worry if Fairy Godmother will be in the lobby (she wasnt there yet, obviously having a few extra Fairy winks, seeing as it was Christmas morning!).
Once in the restaurant, I am amazed to find that it is only ¼ full! The groups here are unusual as well (its normally full of little girls in their Princess outfits). Today it was mainly couples, a few families with only boys and us! I wonder if a lot of people cancelled as the weather was so awful??
Jessie was the only little girl there dressed up, so she got lots of fuss.
We all order the traditional breakfast which consists of sausage, bacon hash brown and a Danish. Jessie gets Mickey waffles and syrup and Daniel gets some French toast sticks, about which he is NOT impressed with at all. Polishes off Nanny Sylvies sausage and hash brown with gusto instead!
Now, this is our third outing to CRT, and to be honest, it will probably be our last. For some reason, even though it was Christmas day, the staff really didnt want to be bothered (I can understand that I guess, I wouldnt want to work on Christmas day either). There was no magic here today, that we have felt previously.
The Princesses were a bit on the short side this morning (no, I dont mean they were tiny, just that there werent many of them!!).
Our first gal, was Wendy who Jessie interrogated vigorously about her bona fide Princess qualifications.
Then we had Snow White, who made a brief stop for photos and autographs.
Mary Poppins came along next, and I hope she didnt hear Jessies grumblings that there werent many proper princesses here today!
Cinderella popped up to cheer us up. Daniel perked up considerably, and planted a sausagey kiss on her cheek. Then things went down hill. Jessie asked when Belle would be coming round, and Cinderella, sadly informs us that Belle wasnt here this morning MAJOR DISASTER.
To cut a long story very short indeed, Jessies most favourite Princess, is Belle. Belle had to be emailed at the castle before our trip, to make sure she wouldnt mind if Jessie wore Belles dress to the castle. Belle, being a modern girl, well versed in netiquette , duly wrote back, assuring Jess, that is was perfectly fine for her to wear her dress and that she would see her on Christmas morning at the castle. Well, she HAD flippin well been at all the other CRT brekkies we had done, so how was I to know she was going to bail this one???
Jessie was mortified, and Cinderella was as well I think!! Cinders promises to go and find out where Belle is this morning and report back.
Good news is that Belle is appearing in her Enchanted Garden at 10.30 and will be wearing her red Christmas dress, just like Jessies. Phew, disaster averted for now!
We dont get offered the customary second breakfast this morning not that any of us ever take them up on a second one, but Neil gets some sort of perverted kick out of being asked Another Breakfast My Lord? (at home he is more used to If you want more toast, you know where we keep the bread ).
Our server is definitely grumpy at having to work today, and cant wait to get shot of us, bringing the bill before we asked and whilst we were still eating.
The restaurant is still not full, but the characters arent spending very long with the children. In fact, Snow White spent about 10 seconds on our table and the table next to us who had two small boys BUT she spent ages with a twenty something couple!!! This didnt seem quite right to me and dont get me wrong, I have no problems with adults at character meals (I would do them myself without kids!!) but I know that REALLY the characters are there for the kids and the kids should be the ones who get to spend the most time with them. Shouldnt they
? Or am I being grumpy? You can tell me, I can take it!
Pay the bill ($100 inc tip). I was intending to leave all the servers today, an extra big tip, but I didnt do so here. In fact I think we left the bare 15% (we usually leave 20%) but the guy was so lacklustre and cant be bothered that we didnt feel he deserved anymore. Yeah, I can understand it being a pain to work the holidays, but its not fair to take it out on the paying guests!
Down in the lobby, Fairy Godmother had awakened from her Christmassy slumber and was holding court as usual. Again, we are surprised at the lack of people .the restaurant still was nowhere near full when we left and there is no one waiting in the lobby either!
Jessie refuses point blank to meet FG, but Daniel bounds over, eager to be swaddled in her shiny cloak. Daniel and FG always have fun together, and they have a little chat whilst we get some photos. Im sure Daniel is arranging for some spell to be cast over Cinders to ensure she keeps her promise, and marries him at the castle in about 17 years time!
We emerge from the castle about 9am and are amazed to see Fantasyland practically empty! Have we got the day wrong? What happened to the Christmas crowds?
Originally, we had no fancy ideas about actually RIDING anything here today. We simply were coming in, eating brekkie, soaking up some atmosphere then leaving to go home. Of course, I didnt expect the park to be emptier than the beach at Skegness in February and the assumed the word soaking would be referring to the suns rays, not the driving rain.
We walk on Peter Pan (twice), Philharmagic, carousel (several times) and Snow White. We have to wait a whole 5 minutes for Dumbo, and thats not due to crowds but because of a fiasco with a family with children who were definitely not filled with Good Will To All Men this morning.
Two kids of about 8 were counted as riding together, but then insisted on riding separately as soon as they got into the ride. The CM said they would have to ride together or leave. Then the mother of said kids intervenes (from BEHIND the barrier) and starts moving people around herself so the kids could ride separately!
CM is going berserk and eventually gets both kids into one Dumbo. Kids then proceed to beat each other up heartily. Mother vaults the barrier and drags one out by his ear and makes him get in ANOTHER Dumbo with a complete stranger! Stranger objects so kid is told he has to ride with his brother or not all.
All of us in the line are looking on in disbelief! This whole thing took 5 minutes to sort out (doesnt sound long, but it was cold, wet and raining). What was priceless, was that both boys (forced to ride in the same Dumbo, albeit, front and back) spent the whole ride sulking and didnt move up or down once! Their father was videoing the whole thing and will probably torture them with the tape for years to come! That, I feel is punishment enough!
Take the kids to Toontown, where Jessie rides the Barnstormer. I scoot off for some FPs for Buzz and check on the exact time that Belle will be in her Enchanted Garden (note it wasnt looking too enchanted this morning, the rain had flattened the plants and there was a giant puddle on the stage).
After letting the kids loose in Toontown for awhile, we decide to stake a front row seat for Belle. Its still cold and raining, so I pop off to get a hot coffee for mum and cocoa for the kids.
Belles helpers emerge about 5 minutes before show time and ask Jessie to take part in the show. Jessie is too shy to do it, so they pick another girl wearing the same dress. Jessie then decides she DOES want to do it, but its too late!
Nevertheless, she enjoys the show and even though its raining the cast do a great job with it. Afterwards, Jess gets in line for a photo .she is dead chuffed that Belle admires their matching outfits! Im slightly concerned when Jessie starts chatting about her email that Belle sent her but Belle plays along gallantly, and appears to know exactly what to say! Got away with that one
!
Got some fantastic photos and at last the rain has stopped!
Nanny Sylvie, however has suffered from that well known complaint of visitors to Belles Enchanted Garden that of Numb Bum. A condition worsened by sitting on ice cold stone benches for 20 minutes in the rain. She wants to get warm to we pop into Cosmic Rays.
Buy the kids a basket of fries to share and another hot coffee for Nanny Sylvie. None of them want to move, so Neil and I head over to do Buzz on our own.
Predictably, Neil gets another unfeasibly high score and I had a broken gun (cough, cough
). As we leave the ride, we see that Mickeys Twas The Night Before Christmas show is about to start in the Tomorrowland theatre. This was one of the shows we missed on the Party night, due to sub zero temperatures. I stay to stake a spot, and Neil darts back to collect the troops from Cosmic Rays.
We dont get a great view, but the kids are held aloft on our shoulders and see everything OK. Cute show, even if it was a day late (keep up, keep up, it is now the morning after the night before Xmas!!).
By now, the Christmas crowds that I had imagined had actually started to materialise. The rain had stopped for about 45 minutes at this time, so I think all the resort guests had suddenly made a dash for the park and it was now mobbed!
We had accomplished a lot more than we had envisaged here today, so we decide to leave and take the kids home to unwrap their pressies. Of course there are no complaints at that (not even the Magic Kingdom can compete against a big stack of unopened presents!).
We cut the corner by the Plaza restaurants (family glance admiringly at their leader ME
) for getting them away from the masses and we emerge at the top of Main St in record time. Unbelievably, even though it wasnt even noon, the parade route was already 10 people thick!!
It was quite a sight to see so many people (mostly battened down under makeshift shelters, fashioned out of a WDW ponchos and stroller rain covers!) waiting already! The parade was still over an hour away! Im sorry, but this does not constitute a FUN way to spend Christmas day! Getting a wet tushie, freezing cold hands and waiting for hours?? These people must be mad!
In the spirit of Christmas, there were only one or two punch ups witnessed as we passed by the wringing wet paraders. Several large gentleman were harassing a CM as to why they couldnt park their families in the cross walk section. Honestly, do peoples common sense and decency suddenly up and leave when they set foot in a theme park? These people were so rude to this tiny little female CM (but good for her, she didnt give an inch!).
What we didnt know then (and neither did the thousands upon thousands of people in the park) was that the 1pm parade was actually cancelled as the weather deteriated rapidly. Apparently, it did go ahead at 4pm, but the park was deserted by then. Some people must have had a really bad Christmas Day if they sat for all those hours in the rain.
As we exit the park, we are shocked at the hordes of people still flooding (and that is a very apt term today!) into the park. If Wordsworth had been here (yes unlikely, but play along..) his poem would have read like this..
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er Castles and Wilderness Trails,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden ponchos
Beside the lake, beneath the monorails
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze .
Did you enjoy that brief literary moment? Im sure Willie would like my amended version almost as much as his own .
You could barely walk up Main St already, so I dont know what the next 4000 new arrivals were going to do!
The rain suddenly upped another notch and we are so glad that we are probably one of the closest parked cars to the TTC. As we all leap into the Jeep, the rain falls even harder and we all feel grateful we got away with being only damp, not drenched.
We do spare a thought for those trying to have a great Christmas day at the Magic Kingdom and all those folk camped out for the parade what a shame. It was a real wash out for everyone I think.
Drive home, with a fruitless attempt to find something open for lunch en route not even the 24 hour Maccy Ds was open! Resort to some ready meals I had in the freezer back at the Villa!
Jessie and Daniel practically dive into the mound of presents and in about 15 seconds, all that is left is a heap of wrapping paper. Another 15 seconds passes and we are then knee deep in those ultra annoying wire tags that toy manufacturers see fit to imprison even the smallest item into its box with.
Daddy is roped in to build a Thomas railroad round the coffee table whilst mummy tinkers with her ipod. All in all a pleasant afternoon. No mince pies or crackers, but we hardly missed them!
Remember that advert for Cadburys Smash that used to be on years ago? You know when, the funny little Martian robots burst into rapturous laughter when they find the potato peeler??? Well, imagine a similar scene, when the family Martin switch on the tellybox to find ABC broadcasting live from Disney World in Florida! There was that bloke that used to do Millionaire (Regis??) and some blonde floozy , supposedly coming live from the Christmas Day parade at the Magic Kingdom! Insert raving Martian Smash men laughter *HERE*, for on the TV, Florida was apparently, sunny, blue skied and 80 degrees!! But look outside we are but 5 miles from the Magic Kingdom Mr Regis and its pi er I mean, its tipping it down, its practically dark and about 40 degrees!
We sit and enjoy the American public being duped and I hum Green Days latest tune and think how apt it is.
NB yes I do know that this show is taped a few weeks before, but the way it is presented on Christmas day, it is very much implied that it is LIVE. Obviously, they can usually get away with it, but its so glaringly NOT LIVE today, because of the weather! Now it becomes clear why all those folk were staking their spots at MK this morning, they thought they were going to be on the telly! More wild Martian laughter
!
The live parade keeps us entertained most of the afternoon. Daniel has a nap about 2pm and Jessie plays nicely with her presents.
Gently give Daniel a prod about 4pm and proceed to dress the family in posh togs for our push the boat out Christmas Dinner at the California Grill.
The thought of taking Daniel to one of Americas Top 15 rated restaurants is worrying to say the least, and we have a contingency plan in place. The plan is to do two sittings if Daniel even LOOKS like he is going to be trouble first sitting would be kids meals and Nanny Sylvie, then Neil and I would eat alone afterwards (Nanny Sylvie would take the kidlets to the Contemporary shops and ride the monorail).
We depart the villa around 6pm. The rain has stopped, but its misty and murky still. Arrive at the Contemporary around 6.20pm. Neil valet parks without any prompting and we proceed to the lifts.
I knew the procedure for check in at the Cali Grill had changed recently, due to so many people going up there just to watch the fireworks. You now check in on the 2nd floor.
We were 40 minutes early for our PS, but seeing as how quiet it was at breakfast this morning, I thought I would chance it and check in early. They offered to seat us straight away, so we accepted! The longer Daniel has to wait for food, the grouchier he becomes!
A nice CM escorts us up to the 15th floor in the lift, and is very friendly. She chats to the kids and Im pleased that we arent made to feel bad for bringing under 5s here. Even though its Disney, I was quite unsure about this booking!
Once at the restaurant, we are seated straight away. The greeter shows us the viewing platform for the fireworks and the view from the restaurant. Its a great vantage point from up here, and the kids love seeing the castle all lit up!
We get settled at our table and our waiter introduces himself. He looked like a famous actor, but none of us could pin point WHO. Neil thought John Lithgow and although thats close, it wasnt quite it. Anyway, we will never know because I forgot to write his name down or take a photo! For the purposes of this trippie, he will have to be John!
Order some drinks and John comes back with those, and crayons for the kids. They dont believe him when he tells them they can draw on the tablecloth! I have to draw something first before either of them will do it!
A little later on in the evening, an older couple were seated on the table next to us, and kept giving us dirty looks I finally worked out that they were shocked at the kids crayoning the tablecloth!
Well, it LOOKED like Daniel was on his best behaviour tonight, so we decided to risk all ordering together.
This is when we were disappointed.
I had spent hours researching where to have our Christmas dinner. I wanted somewhere nice, but that offered a traditional turkey dinner. After going through all the menus online, I chose the Yachtsmans Steakhouse, booked that, then Neil decided that the California Grill looked better, so I rebooked!
The online menu, suggested there would be roasted turkey, yam mash and veggies. I also checked with the CM when I booked to clarify that there would be a Christmas option that night. She assured me that ALL WDW restaurants would have a festive menu tonight.
Typically, the California Grill were not offering anything other than their usual menu tonight. I tried to grill (haha) the waiter about it, but he got just a tad ruffled and firmly insisted There is NO turkey tonight, madam. Ooooh, get you.
OK, so its Christmas day with no turkey (at least we had sprouts last night at Park Fare!). To start we order a flank steak flatbread to share. This was lovely flatbread is just a posh word for Pizza really and it was flavoursome and delicious! Kids eat most of it, and in hindsight, should have ordered two.
John (who was now all smiles again whence I had accepted defeat on the turkey thing) then brought some sour dough bread and olive oil for dipping. I loathe neat oil as a dip or dressing so nudged that as far away as possible.
The bread was OK, but would have been better served with a dollop of anchor or some Utterly Butterly instead. Common, moi? You get mashed potato in my house, not crushed potato and what this with pan fried
how the heck else do you fry something? Vine tomatoes
well what OTHER kind are there? Dont say tinned . Sorry, poncy cuisine rant over!
John brings out the kids meals first, which are grilled chicken, mash and brocolini (another stupid chefs name for what was simply broccoli with a longer than usual stalk).
Kids behave impeccably, and eat their meals nicely and in relative calm.
As Neil and I had ordered steak, John warned us it would be 25 minutes, as it was freshly prepared. We were seated next to the kitchen and could see everything happening. It was like being in the audience of Ready Steady Cook!
Resist the urge to helpfully pass on some tips to the chefs (an Oxo cube on that steak would be fabulous, chef !) and sit patiently awaiting our meals. John wanders over and asks if any of us would be interested in ordering their special dessert. It takes 35 minutes to make, so we need to order now. John describes it as a Molten Chocolate delicacy. I order one immediately!
Our mains arrive at last. Neil and I have the filet, which comes with cheesy potatoes and broccoli with a long stalk oooh, I mean brocolini. Nanny Sylvie has the pork filet with polenta.
Both Neil and I like our meals, but considering they were $15 each more than Le Cellier, I dont find them good value. The filet is cooked perfectly, but it is no better than the Le Cellier one.
Nanny Sylvie doesnt fare so well with her pork. They have served it pink and Nanny Sylvie is of the old school, where pink meat isnt gourmet, its simply not cooked. I ask John to take it back, but Nanny Sylvie (being very British today) insists its OK as it is. Of course she barely eats a thing.
My dessert arrives very soon after our steaks and is lovely! Kids have some plain vanilla ice cream (though they could have had worms n dirt).
We are very proud of the children this evening, and even John comments how well behaved they are. I think the tablecloth drawing is a masterstroke!
The check arrives and its pushing $200. Seeing as we didnt have wine and only one dessert (kids were included with their meals) thats hefty. Still, its Christmas. Leave John a decent tip and move over to the lounge area to await the fireworks.
Daniel then does a doozy of a nappy, so I am volunteered to change him, problem is there is no baby change in any of the toilets! Find one of the greeters to see if she knows where there is one.
She is sure that there is one here somewhere and I go on a surreal journey of the toilets with my guide, who is dressed in a spangly blue cocktail dress! Its quite amusing as she pokes around the toilets trying to find the baby change!
Eventually, we find it hidden behind the door of a disabled toilet that was itself tucked away in a corner!
Change a very whiffy Daniel into a fresh pampers and join the rest of the team back in the lounge. Its far too cold to go out onto the Observation deck, so we find some chairs and sit by the window.
At 9pm, the lights are dimmed in the lounge and the fireworks begin! Even the music is piped in (which I had read that they dont do maybe they did tonight as it was Christmas). Unfortunately, the cloud was so low, the fireworks were disappearing and none of the spectacular effects can be seen. What a shame.
Still, it was still a lovely setting and the kids enjoyed seeing the colours, even if we couldnt make out any of the large fireworks.
Leave the restaurant at 915pm. Browse the shops, pick up the car, back home 10pm.
Tomorrow: Boxing Day, MGM Fantasmic.
Main Players
Allie
Neil
Jessamy (4)
Daniel Noah (2)
Nanny Sylvie
Saturday December 25th 2004
OK, I want you to take a deep breathe thats it, now all together in your best Noddy Holder voice, sing it with me IIIIIIITS CHRISTMAAAAAAAAS!!!
Slightly shell shocked by the alarm dingling at 6am we arise to the very rare sight that Daniel was still fast asleep in his cot. Typical the one morning we need him up early! He soon stirs to witness the strange and unusual appearance of his parents up before him!
Also, judging by the noise, there werent snowflakes slowly drifting down from the heavens, but a tremendous rainstorm crashing into the pool. Dont know about raining cats and dogs, it was coming down elephants and rhinos this morning!
Poor Jessie was tormented by the huge pile of presents that we didnt have time for her to open, so we sent both her and Daniel to the front room to play with the monorail whilst we got dressed.
The monorail proved popular for about 30 seconds, until Daniel decided to play Godzilla and lifted the track aloft whilst the monorail was still going. Jessie was furious and within seconds there was warfare going on. Merry flippin Christmas
!With adults now clothed (waterproof EVERYTHING was the order of the day!), it was time to tackle the wee ones.
Long, long, long ago, mummy had thought it a fabulous wheeze to book a Cinderellas Royal Table breakfast for Christmas morning her other cunning plan, was to dress her daughter in a pretty, sparkly, long Belle dress for the occasion. Of course, when I booked this, back in sunny September, I foolishly assumed that Christmas in Florida would be a sun drenched affair, and that my little girl would be stifling hot in her dress, so would need shorts to change into
.To nick a phrase from Santa (who enjoyed those Kettle chips and choklits by the way, for thou were all gone this morning
) - HO HO HO. It was touch and go whether The Dress was going to be viable this morning.Luckily, Nanny Sylvie is the sort that can rustle up haberdashery miracles from nowhere and hastily crafts a hood from a cape we had brought to go with the dress. That, and a few safety pins to stop the white fur lined hem from dragging in the puddles, a thermal vest hidden underneath and we were good to go!
I dress Daniel far less formally in his Buzz Light-year rain mac and we are away by 7am as required.
Well, the weather this morning was terrible. Not only was it raining elephants and rhinos, it was gloomy, overcast and misty to complete the ensemble.
There were very few people on the roads this morning and we arrive at the TTC at 7.20am.
Now, having read all the horror stories about the Magic Kingdom reaching capacity at 8.01am on Christmas Day and that we would be parked in the overflowed overflow car park, we were most amazed at obtaining a car parking slot, on the second row, DIRECTLY opposite the TTC
! Dead chuffed at that, I guess the weather is putting people off. There is a fairly steady stream of cars coming in behind us, but we are in the first 50 cars in the park this morning. I would guess they opened the parking lot at 7am.
A little Christmas magic, as when we get out of the car, the rain actually lessens from a downpour to a drizzle.
Daniel sits smugly ensconced in his PVC rain covered stroller, whilst the rest of us crowd under Jessies miniscule Bear In The Big Blue House umbrella.
Neil runs off to the store by the ticket booths to see if they sell bigger umbrellas, but they dont. Im waggling my finger at you, Mr Disney .big money making opportunity missed there, mate! You guys need me working for you
!Make a dash up to the monorail the ferry hasnt even left the Magic Kingdom side of the lake yet, so no chance of standing waiting for that this morning!
There are a fair amount of people on the ramp, and we have to wait for the next monorail to arrive. This doesnt take long, and within 5 minutes we are off.
Once again the security check is pointless and brief, and we are through in seconds. Did the security guy find our baby bag today? No, he didnt, so thats another round of marmite sandwiches infiltrated into the park!
Even though its only 7.30am, the park appears to be open, so we go through and wander up towards Main St. The rain decided its brief respite was enough, and proceeds to come down in torrents again.
I make an easy side step into the shops to keep warm and dry and to avoid the blockage of damp, lost and confused tourists camped out in the middle of Main St consulting their increasingly soggy park maps. NB..I dont class myself as a tourist here, I prefer the term Disney Expert On Vacation
As we wander through the shops, the crowds are getting worse, as everyone is wising up thats warm and dry in here and you cant move.
I bellow out to my troops DO YOU HAVE YOUR EXIT BUDDY? and we manoeuvre in a chain to emerge at the top of Main St at Caseys Corner.
Cant quite work out why there is a massive glut of people outside Caseys so I confidently start our march to the castle.
Ooooh, no I dont, suddenly about 500 people have shouted NO! You cant go up there yet and a CM is despatched to bring us back!
For some reason, the park ISNT open yet, they are doing a rope drop at the end of Main St, but have failed to notice that hundreds of people are emerging from the shops and trying to walk onwards!
CMs frantically get on their walkie talkies to scramble more recruits to block the exit from Caseys, but its like trying to hold back Noahs flood!
This all seems a bit pointless there are thousands of people squashed into Main St and its 7.55am. CMs are shouting that the park is opening at 8am.
We are shepherded to the front of the rope drop, much to the disgruntled folk who were already there and had been for an hour they informed me before swiping me with their soggy maps (no, they didnt, but I could tell they wanted to by the glint in their eyes
).I could see their point, but it wasnt our fault that Disney had a very shoddy system in place morning. I had no intention of queue jumping, I just took a short cut through the shops!
In the end the CMs gave up and rope dropped. Problem was, they didnt actually HAVE a rope to drop, they just made a silly hand signal, then (when no one stampeded as they expected) shouted Well arent you coming in then to the waiting throng!
I knew they hadnt been given the all clear yet because of all the frantic We had to let em in, there was gonna be a punch up! messages on the walkie talkies!!
Manage to avoid the stampede of folk sprinting towards the Mountains, then laugh, as they all slip over in the puddles
. All right, we didnt laugh but I was rubbing my hands together at the £250 I was gonna get from Kirstys Home Videos when I sent it in!We slowly wander up to the castle. Our PS was for 8.05, so we had 4 minutes to transverse 200 yards. Even in my unfit state, I think we are going to make it!
Fully expecting Cindys to be packed, Im surprised that we are the only solitary family at the podium. We are seated straight away, and Jessie has no time to worry if Fairy Godmother will be in the lobby (she wasnt there yet, obviously having a few extra Fairy winks, seeing as it was Christmas morning!).
Once in the restaurant, I am amazed to find that it is only ¼ full! The groups here are unusual as well (its normally full of little girls in their Princess outfits). Today it was mainly couples, a few families with only boys and us! I wonder if a lot of people cancelled as the weather was so awful??
Jessie was the only little girl there dressed up, so she got lots of fuss.
We all order the traditional breakfast which consists of sausage, bacon hash brown and a Danish. Jessie gets Mickey waffles and syrup and Daniel gets some French toast sticks, about which he is NOT impressed with at all. Polishes off Nanny Sylvies sausage and hash brown with gusto instead!
Now, this is our third outing to CRT, and to be honest, it will probably be our last. For some reason, even though it was Christmas day, the staff really didnt want to be bothered (I can understand that I guess, I wouldnt want to work on Christmas day either). There was no magic here today, that we have felt previously.
The Princesses were a bit on the short side this morning (no, I dont mean they were tiny, just that there werent many of them!!).
Our first gal, was Wendy who Jessie interrogated vigorously about her bona fide Princess qualifications.
Then we had Snow White, who made a brief stop for photos and autographs.
Mary Poppins came along next, and I hope she didnt hear Jessies grumblings that there werent many proper princesses here today!
Cinderella popped up to cheer us up. Daniel perked up considerably, and planted a sausagey kiss on her cheek. Then things went down hill. Jessie asked when Belle would be coming round, and Cinderella, sadly informs us that Belle wasnt here this morning MAJOR DISASTER.
To cut a long story very short indeed, Jessies most favourite Princess, is Belle. Belle had to be emailed at the castle before our trip, to make sure she wouldnt mind if Jessie wore Belles dress to the castle. Belle, being a modern girl, well versed in netiquette
, duly wrote back, assuring Jess, that is was perfectly fine for her to wear her dress and that she would see her on Christmas morning at the castle. Well, she HAD flippin well been at all the other CRT brekkies we had done, so how was I to know she was going to bail this one???Jessie was mortified, and Cinderella was as well I think!! Cinders promises to go and find out where Belle is this morning and report back.
Good news is that Belle is appearing in her Enchanted Garden at 10.30 and will be wearing her red Christmas dress, just like Jessies. Phew, disaster averted for now!
We dont get offered the customary second breakfast this morning not that any of us ever take them up on a second one, but Neil gets some sort of perverted kick out of being asked Another Breakfast My Lord? (at home he is more used to If you want more toast, you know where we keep the bread
).Our server is definitely grumpy at having to work today, and cant wait to get shot of us, bringing the bill before we asked and whilst we were still eating.
The restaurant is still not full, but the characters arent spending very long with the children. In fact, Snow White spent about 10 seconds on our table and the table next to us who had two small boys BUT she spent ages with a twenty something couple!!! This didnt seem quite right to me and dont get me wrong, I have no problems with adults at character meals (I would do them myself without kids!!) but I know that REALLY the characters are there for the kids and the kids should be the ones who get to spend the most time with them. Shouldnt they
? Or am I being grumpy? You can tell me, I can take it!Pay the bill ($100 inc tip). I was intending to leave all the servers today, an extra big tip, but I didnt do so here. In fact I think we left the bare 15% (we usually leave 20%) but the guy was so lacklustre and cant be bothered that we didnt feel he deserved anymore. Yeah, I can understand it being a pain to work the holidays, but its not fair to take it out on the paying guests!
Down in the lobby, Fairy Godmother had awakened from her Christmassy slumber and was holding court as usual. Again, we are surprised at the lack of people .the restaurant still was nowhere near full when we left and there is no one waiting in the lobby either!
Jessie refuses point blank to meet FG, but Daniel bounds over, eager to be swaddled in her shiny cloak. Daniel and FG always have fun together, and they have a little chat whilst we get some photos. Im sure Daniel is arranging for some spell to be cast over Cinders to ensure she keeps her promise, and marries him at the castle in about 17 years time!
We emerge from the castle about 9am and are amazed to see Fantasyland practically empty! Have we got the day wrong? What happened to the Christmas crowds?
Originally, we had no fancy ideas about actually RIDING anything here today. We simply were coming in, eating brekkie, soaking up some atmosphere then leaving to go home. Of course, I didnt expect the park to be emptier than the beach at Skegness in February and the assumed the word soaking would be referring to the suns rays, not the driving rain.
We walk on Peter Pan (twice), Philharmagic, carousel (several times) and Snow White. We have to wait a whole 5 minutes for Dumbo, and thats not due to crowds but because of a fiasco with a family with children who were definitely not filled with Good Will To All Men this morning.
Two kids of about 8 were counted as riding together, but then insisted on riding separately as soon as they got into the ride. The CM said they would have to ride together or leave. Then the mother of said kids intervenes (from BEHIND the barrier) and starts moving people around herself so the kids could ride separately!
CM is going berserk and eventually gets both kids into one Dumbo. Kids then proceed to beat each other up heartily. Mother vaults the barrier and drags one out by his ear and makes him get in ANOTHER Dumbo with a complete stranger! Stranger objects so kid is told he has to ride with his brother or not all.
All of us in the line are looking on in disbelief! This whole thing took 5 minutes to sort out (doesnt sound long, but it was cold, wet and raining). What was priceless, was that both boys (forced to ride in the same Dumbo, albeit, front and back) spent the whole ride sulking and didnt move up or down once! Their father was videoing the whole thing and will probably torture them with the tape for years to come! That, I feel is punishment enough!
Take the kids to Toontown, where Jessie rides the Barnstormer. I scoot off for some FPs for Buzz and check on the exact time that Belle will be in her Enchanted Garden (note it wasnt looking too enchanted this morning, the rain had flattened the plants and there was a giant puddle on the stage).
After letting the kids loose in Toontown for awhile, we decide to stake a front row seat for Belle. Its still cold and raining, so I pop off to get a hot coffee for mum and cocoa for the kids.
Belles helpers emerge about 5 minutes before show time and ask Jessie to take part in the show. Jessie is too shy to do it, so they pick another girl wearing the same dress. Jessie then decides she DOES want to do it, but its too late!
Nevertheless, she enjoys the show and even though its raining the cast do a great job with it. Afterwards, Jess gets in line for a photo .she is dead chuffed that Belle admires their matching outfits! Im slightly concerned when Jessie starts chatting about her email that Belle sent her but Belle plays along gallantly, and appears to know exactly what to say! Got away with that one
!Got some fantastic photos and at last the rain has stopped!
Nanny Sylvie, however has suffered from that well known complaint of visitors to Belles Enchanted Garden that of Numb Bum. A condition worsened by sitting on ice cold stone benches for 20 minutes in the rain. She wants to get warm to we pop into Cosmic Rays.
Buy the kids a basket of fries to share and another hot coffee for Nanny Sylvie. None of them want to move, so Neil and I head over to do Buzz on our own.
Predictably, Neil gets another unfeasibly high score and I had a broken gun (cough, cough
). As we leave the ride, we see that Mickeys Twas The Night Before Christmas show is about to start in the Tomorrowland theatre. This was one of the shows we missed on the Party night, due to sub zero temperatures. I stay to stake a spot, and Neil darts back to collect the troops from Cosmic Rays.We dont get a great view, but the kids are held aloft on our shoulders and see everything OK. Cute show, even if it was a day late (keep up, keep up, it is now the morning after the night before Xmas!!).
By now, the Christmas crowds that I had imagined had actually started to materialise. The rain had stopped for about 45 minutes at this time, so I think all the resort guests had suddenly made a dash for the park and it was now mobbed!
We had accomplished a lot more than we had envisaged here today, so we decide to leave and take the kids home to unwrap their pressies. Of course there are no complaints at that (not even the Magic Kingdom can compete against a big stack of unopened presents!).
We cut the corner by the Plaza restaurants (family glance admiringly at their leader ME
) for getting them away from the masses and we emerge at the top of Main St in record time. Unbelievably, even though it wasnt even noon, the parade route was already 10 people thick!! It was quite a sight to see so many people (mostly battened down under makeshift shelters, fashioned out of a WDW ponchos and stroller rain covers!) waiting already! The parade was still over an hour away! Im sorry, but this does not constitute a FUN way to spend Christmas day! Getting a wet tushie, freezing cold hands and waiting for hours?? These people must be mad!
In the spirit of Christmas, there were only one or two punch ups witnessed as we passed by the wringing wet paraders. Several large gentleman were harassing a CM as to why they couldnt park their families in the cross walk section. Honestly, do peoples common sense and decency suddenly up and leave when they set foot in a theme park? These people were so rude to this tiny little female CM (but good for her, she didnt give an inch!).
What we didnt know then (and neither did the thousands upon thousands of people in the park) was that the 1pm parade was actually cancelled as the weather deteriated rapidly. Apparently, it did go ahead at 4pm, but the park was deserted by then. Some people must have had a really bad Christmas Day if they sat for all those hours in the rain.
As we exit the park, we are shocked at the hordes of people still flooding (and that is a very apt term today!) into the park. If Wordsworth had been here (yes unlikely, but play along..) his poem would have read like this..
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er Castles and Wilderness Trails,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden ponchos
Beside the lake, beneath the monorails
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze
.Did you enjoy that brief literary moment? Im sure Willie would like my amended version almost as much as his own
.You could barely walk up Main St already, so I dont know what the next 4000 new arrivals were going to do!
The rain suddenly upped another notch and we are so glad that we are probably one of the closest parked cars to the TTC. As we all leap into the Jeep, the rain falls even harder and we all feel grateful we got away with being only damp, not drenched.
We do spare a thought for those trying to have a great Christmas day at the Magic Kingdom and all those folk camped out for the parade what a shame. It was a real wash out for everyone I think.
Drive home, with a fruitless attempt to find something open for lunch en route not even the 24 hour Maccy Ds was open! Resort to some ready meals I had in the freezer back at the Villa!
Jessie and Daniel practically dive into the mound of presents and in about 15 seconds, all that is left is a heap of wrapping paper. Another 15 seconds passes and we are then knee deep in those ultra annoying wire tags that toy manufacturers see fit to imprison even the smallest item into its box with.
Daddy is roped in to build a Thomas railroad round the coffee table whilst mummy tinkers with her ipod. All in all a pleasant afternoon. No mince pies or crackers, but we hardly missed them!
Remember that advert for Cadburys Smash that used to be on years ago? You know when, the funny little Martian robots burst into rapturous laughter when they find the potato peeler??? Well, imagine a similar scene, when the family Martin switch on the tellybox to find ABC broadcasting live from Disney World in Florida! There was that bloke that used to do Millionaire (Regis??) and some blonde floozy , supposedly coming live from the Christmas Day parade at the Magic Kingdom! Insert raving Martian Smash men laughter *HERE*, for on the TV, Florida was apparently, sunny, blue skied and 80 degrees!! But look outside we are but 5 miles from the Magic Kingdom Mr Regis and its pi er I mean, its tipping it down, its practically dark and about 40 degrees!
We sit and enjoy the American public being duped and I hum Green Days latest tune and think how apt it is
.NB yes I do know that this show is taped a few weeks before, but the way it is presented on Christmas day, it is very much implied that it is LIVE. Obviously, they can usually get away with it, but its so glaringly NOT LIVE today, because of the weather! Now it becomes clear why all those folk were staking their spots at MK this morning, they thought they were going to be on the telly! More wild Martian laughter
!The live parade keeps us entertained most of the afternoon. Daniel has a nap about 2pm and Jessie plays nicely with her presents.
Gently give Daniel a prod about 4pm and proceed to dress the family in posh togs for our push the boat out Christmas Dinner at the California Grill.
The thought of taking Daniel to one of Americas Top 15 rated restaurants is worrying to say the least, and we have a contingency plan in place. The plan is to do two sittings if Daniel even LOOKS like he is going to be trouble first sitting would be kids meals and Nanny Sylvie, then Neil and I would eat alone afterwards (Nanny Sylvie would take the kidlets to the Contemporary shops and ride the monorail).
We depart the villa around 6pm. The rain has stopped, but its misty and murky still. Arrive at the Contemporary around 6.20pm. Neil valet parks without any prompting and we proceed to the lifts.
I knew the procedure for check in at the Cali Grill had changed recently, due to so many people going up there just to watch the fireworks. You now check in on the 2nd floor.
We were 40 minutes early for our PS, but seeing as how quiet it was at breakfast this morning, I thought I would chance it and check in early. They offered to seat us straight away, so we accepted! The longer Daniel has to wait for food, the grouchier he becomes!
A nice CM escorts us up to the 15th floor in the lift, and is very friendly. She chats to the kids and Im pleased that we arent made to feel bad for bringing under 5s here. Even though its Disney, I was quite unsure about this booking!
Once at the restaurant, we are seated straight away. The greeter shows us the viewing platform for the fireworks and the view from the restaurant. Its a great vantage point from up here, and the kids love seeing the castle all lit up!
We get settled at our table and our waiter introduces himself. He looked like a famous actor, but none of us could pin point WHO. Neil thought John Lithgow and although thats close, it wasnt quite it. Anyway, we will never know because I forgot to write his name down or take a photo! For the purposes of this trippie, he will have to be John!
Order some drinks and John comes back with those, and crayons for the kids. They dont believe him when he tells them they can draw on the tablecloth! I have to draw something first before either of them will do it!
A little later on in the evening, an older couple were seated on the table next to us, and kept giving us dirty looks I finally worked out that they were shocked at the kids crayoning the tablecloth!
Well, it LOOKED like Daniel was on his best behaviour tonight, so we decided to risk all ordering together.
This is when we were disappointed.
I had spent hours researching where to have our Christmas dinner. I wanted somewhere nice, but that offered a traditional turkey dinner. After going through all the menus online, I chose the Yachtsmans Steakhouse, booked that, then Neil decided that the California Grill looked better, so I rebooked!
The online menu, suggested there would be roasted turkey, yam mash and veggies. I also checked with the CM when I booked to clarify that there would be a Christmas option that night. She assured me that ALL WDW restaurants would have a festive menu tonight.
Typically, the California Grill were not offering anything other than their usual menu tonight. I tried to grill (haha) the waiter about it, but he got just a tad ruffled and firmly insisted There is NO turkey tonight, madam. Ooooh, get you.
OK, so its Christmas day with no turkey (at least we had sprouts last night at Park Fare!). To start we order a flank steak flatbread to share. This was lovely flatbread is just a posh word for Pizza really and it was flavoursome and delicious! Kids eat most of it, and in hindsight, should have ordered two.
John (who was now all smiles again whence I had accepted defeat on the turkey thing) then brought some sour dough bread and olive oil for dipping. I loathe neat oil as a dip or dressing so nudged that as far away as possible.
The bread was OK, but would have been better served with a dollop of anchor or some Utterly Butterly instead
. Common, moi? You get mashed potato in my house, not crushed potato and what this with pan fried
how the heck else do you fry something? Vine tomatoes
well what OTHER kind are there? Dont say tinned . Sorry, poncy cuisine rant over!John brings out the kids meals first, which are grilled chicken, mash and brocolini (another stupid chefs name for what was simply broccoli with a longer than usual stalk).
Kids behave impeccably, and eat their meals nicely and in relative calm.
As Neil and I had ordered steak, John warned us it would be 25 minutes, as it was freshly prepared. We were seated next to the kitchen and could see everything happening. It was like being in the audience of Ready Steady Cook!
Resist the urge to helpfully pass on some tips to the chefs (an Oxo cube on that steak would be fabulous, chef
!) and sit patiently awaiting our meals. John wanders over and asks if any of us would be interested in ordering their special dessert. It takes 35 minutes to make, so we need to order now. John describes it as a Molten Chocolate delicacy. I order one immediately! Our mains arrive at last. Neil and I have the filet, which comes with cheesy potatoes and broccoli with a long stalk oooh, I mean brocolini. Nanny Sylvie has the pork filet with polenta.
Both Neil and I like our meals, but considering they were $15 each more than Le Cellier, I dont find them good value. The filet is cooked perfectly, but it is no better than the Le Cellier one.
Nanny Sylvie doesnt fare so well with her pork. They have served it pink and Nanny Sylvie is of the old school, where pink meat isnt gourmet, its simply not cooked. I ask John to take it back, but Nanny Sylvie (being very British today) insists its OK as it is. Of course she barely eats a thing.
My dessert arrives very soon after our steaks and is lovely! Kids have some plain vanilla ice cream (though they could have had worms n dirt).
We are very proud of the children this evening, and even John comments how well behaved they are. I think the tablecloth drawing is a masterstroke!
The check arrives and its pushing $200. Seeing as we didnt have wine and only one dessert (kids were included with their meals) thats hefty. Still, its Christmas. Leave John a decent tip and move over to the lounge area to await the fireworks.
Daniel then does a doozy of a nappy, so I am volunteered to change him, problem is there is no baby change in any of the toilets! Find one of the greeters to see if she knows where there is one.
She is sure that there is one here somewhere and I go on a surreal journey of the toilets with my guide, who is dressed in a spangly blue cocktail dress! Its quite amusing as she pokes around the toilets trying to find the baby change!
Eventually, we find it hidden behind the door of a disabled toilet that was itself tucked away in a corner!
Change a very whiffy Daniel into a fresh pampers and join the rest of the team back in the lounge. Its far too cold to go out onto the Observation deck, so we find some chairs and sit by the window.
At 9pm, the lights are dimmed in the lounge and the fireworks begin! Even the music is piped in (which I had read that they dont do maybe they did tonight as it was Christmas). Unfortunately, the cloud was so low, the fireworks were disappearing and none of the spectacular effects can be seen. What a shame.
Still, it was still a lovely setting and the kids enjoyed seeing the colours, even if we couldnt make out any of the large fireworks.
Leave the restaurant at 915pm. Browse the shops, pick up the car, back home 10pm.
Tomorrow: Boxing Day, MGM Fantasmic.
) but we found them very expensive for the quality of the food and not relaxing experiences. 
