allie5
<font color=blue>WARNING! DHL men should be cautio
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2002
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Part 20 Boxing Day
Main Players
Allie
Neil
Jessamy (4)
Daniel Noah (2)
Nanny Sylvie
Sunday, December 26th 2004
Now, the Americans dont do Boxing Day. Today, everything was up and running again as if nothing had ever happened. Whilst those of you in the UK woke to turkey & sprout curry for breakfast
, assorted relatives asleep in every orifice of your house and nothing open but the corner shop, the USA was back in full working order.
Hence the reason that they dont have a name for the day after Christmas I guess. For the purposes of this trippie (and the fact that the Americans do not have a clue what the term boxing day refers to) today will be known as Christmas +1
.
Daniel had an unsettled night, which of course meant that we did as well. We give up in the early hours and end up watching QVC by 5am. Chuckle at the sheer tenacity of the presenters trying to flog some contraption that will give you Super Abs in only 10 days cheer when some wrinkly old dear manages 6 crunches on her Ab Magic on camera (before being whisked off to the ER just out of shot
). Lets be honest, anything that can make you laugh at that time of the day, deserves some credit!
A quick peek outside confirms that the weather has not made any change and that Christmas +1 is looking to be as gloomy and miserable as yesterday.
Decide on a plan of action. We have an early PS at Hollywood & Vine for dinner tonight (4.10pm) as part of the Fantasmic Dinner Package. We intend to also see the Osbourne lights and do a final tour of duty at MGM.
Dont want to head to the park too early, so decide to pop to the Lake Buena Vista Outlets for some shopping.
Arrive just as it opens at 10am. By 10.05 we are running back to the Jeep with frostbite! It was FREEEEEEZING
! There was an icy wind blowing and it was actually too cold to walk round! Manage to buy a couple of presents to take home in the shop we had parked outside and that was it!
As Daniel was up at 5am, he is getting sleepy and grumpy (but strangely not Bashful or Happy
) so we decide on a quick brunch from the Burger King and then head back home. Do a drive thru at BK and eat our Whoppers, Big Fish and chicken strips with the luxury of real crockery back at the villa. Oh the refinement! That posh meal at the California Grill must have paid off 
!
Give Daniel a warm bath and pack him off to bed with his Its a small world musical box tinkling beside his cot. Yes, they do sell such a thing, and it is available in Instruments Of Torture R Us stores nationwide.
Jessie spends another afternoon playing with her Christmas presents and we have a very typical boxing day oooh, ahem, I mean Christmas +1 type day ourselves, generally chilling out, nibbling trail mix and watching The Sound Of Music on TV .
Daniel wakes up at 2.45pm and we check the Weather Channel to see what the forecast is for tonight. Yippee, another Freeze Watch for Polk and Osceola counties, a wind chill factor of -2 and a high chance of rain. When the cheery weather person bids us to Have a great evening folks and stay warm we all simultaneously chuck our woolly hats, scarves and mittens at the screen!
As we are (sniff sniff) nearing the end of our epic adventure, we all decide we will brave the weather (even Nanny Sylvie). We adorn ourselves in several layers, pinch blankets from the beds to wrap the kids in and fashion balaclavas from our beach towels (then decided that was just TOO ridiculous and left them at home!).
By 3.30pm we have arrived at MGM (yes, I know they have changed the name to Disney Studios now, but in the interests of nostalgia and my unwillingness to accept change, Im keeping it as MGM for this year I MAY toe the line for Octobers report!).
As we drive into the car park we are horrified that the CM directs us right to the furthest car park away from the entrance! There are several EMPTY lots right near the front and we intend to get one!
Neil assures us he knows a short cut and nips behind the CM, aiming at what looks like a direct route into the front car lot. Naturally, we are foiled by an interception of traffic cones and we have to sheepishly retrace our steps, which, even more embarrassingly, takes us right out of the park altogether! Homer Simpson can supply the perfect word to sum up our plight DOH!
Enter again, carefully choosing a different booth in case we are collared for rubbish driving in and around a theme park and sneak off in a better direction than last time. This time, we are victorious and slip into a lovely spot, right on the end of a row. Sadly still a tad too far to walk, but there was a trolley bus waiting, so alls well in the end!
Being Christmas +1, the park is naturally HEAVING! This is the busiest I have ever seen MGM you can barely walk up the boulevard and there are still people flooding in.
Fight our way round to Hollywood & Vine where there is an enormous line of people at the podium, and I get the thankless task of joining it!
Wait 20 minutes in the line and arrive at the podium bang on my PS time. I am not that happy to be told that I will still have a 25 / 30 minute wait for my table. Yes, I hear you cry, but a PS isnt a reservation for a set time yes I know that BUT what had annoyed me was that two families in front of me were walk ins and had gotten a table straight away! That seemed a bit off.
I did query this with the girl at the podium (being careful to stay nice and polite of course) and she replied I am doing my best its so busy, I am sorry. Well at least she apologised and it wasnt her fault, so I smile and say thanks.
I am most surprised to be paged only a couple of minutes later anyway, so no harm done. I do wonder though if the PS system maybe needs a bit of an overhaul at busy times. It works well enough most of the time, but breaks down with big crowds. Maybe two lines to the podium one for people with PSs the other for Walk Ins? Just a thought.
Now, we are quite big fans of H&V, having eaten here a few times in the past. Last year we also did the Fantasmic dinner Package, but being a hot and balmy July evening, it was cancelled due a thunderstorm of biblical proportions. Neil and I had managed to see it earlier that holiday, but none of the others had yet managed it!
We are seated in a booth and our waitress was, let me say this tactfully, one of Americas more senior citizens. In fact, she looked suspiciously like the old dear in the Ab Magic ad on QVC this morning. Perhaps waitressing was a happier choice of career for those in advancing years to that of Ab Magic demonstrator.
Oh, I digress again, anyway, yes, she was ancient this lady and both Neil and I felt simply awful seeing her struggle with huge trays of drinks. We both felt the urge to sit her down and take over her section. Joking aside, we were actually quite distressed about this. Dont get me wrong, Im not being ageist (wonder if Nanny Sylvie fancies a stint as a Disney waitress??) but she could barely lift her tray and was obviously struggling big time. Surely she would be better off on the podium taking ressies than doing this job?
This kind of took the edge off our meal as we were so worried about her
.
The food too, was a disappointment. Whether the sheer volume of people here today meant they were having to take less time to prepare the food than normal or just that we caught it on a bad day, I dont know. The steak was a little rubbery, pot roast mediocre and the veggies soggy. Daniel refused to eat a thing and Jessie (who will usually eat anything) confined herself to a chicken drumstick and some pasta.
We are given our Fantasmic vouchers and instructions to enter by the gate next to Oscars. The check was $85 plus tip.
Even though we didnt have the best meal here today, Im sure we will be back, as it is usually one of our best eateries of our trip.
Leave at 5.15pm and wander round the Studios. Nanny Sylvie isnt relishing the thought of an outdoor show tonight and buys yet another woollen hat. Jessie manages to blag one too. Daniel, as usual, refuses to wear one and just has the hood of his fleece (which is under his Mickey leather jacket!).
Go and check out where the back door is to Fantasmic and find that easy enough, so remember for later on. Its getting colder, and no one is that enthusiastic about doing any rides! When even the male members of your party choose browsing the shops over riding Rock and Rollercoaster, you KNOW its cold!
Nanny Sylvie hasnt bought Neil anything for his Christmas present yet, so when he spots a very nice black camera bag in the Photo store, she offers to get it for him. Decide to buy on the way back though, to save dragging it to the show.
Decide to go and get our seats for Fantasmic now, and join the looooong line of people waiting to gain admittance via the back door. Just as we are about to enter, Jessie decides she needs to go and needs to go RIGHT NOW! . Brilliant timing!
Fortunately, Mr Disney has had the foresight to put a handy set of restrooms right next to the Fantasmic entrance, so we dont have far to travel
!
Jessie is well rehearsed in by passing queues in restrooms by bellowing Mummy if I dont go NOW I am going to wet my pants. Like Moses parting the waves, the line of ladies parts and allows Jessie the next available cubicle. 4 year olds have several uses that come in quite handy sometimes!
Meet up with the others, who have had a jolly few minutes watching every Japanese tourist in the park try and get in the back door entrance, but WITHOUT a voucher. Marvel at the CMs efforts to try and convey the fact that they did indeed need a little green ticket to gain entry and wonder at the sign language used to spell out you cant come in without a ticket. Usually it was a thumb jerked over a shoulder and two words, one being off .
Dodge past the entire population of Tokyo clogging up the entrance and begin our trek to the theatre.
One didnt count on the fact that this wasnt a pleasant stroll, but more of an evening hike. Where was this darn theatre anyway Alabama?
After a mile or three, we happen across a Stroller parking lot where we have to remove young Daniel from the cosy, blanket ensconced haven of his buggy. He isnt impressed and daddy has to carry him the rest of the way.
Finally, we see the theatre and the very jovial CM greets us with Welcome to Freezetasmic folks! .
Glad to report we get great seats and a lovely view over the stage. We set up camp with our blankets and it isnt long before the kids have managed to extract more of those glowing stick things from us.
Look, here we are (except me, behind the camera as usual!)
There is still 30 minutes till the show, but surprisingly, it goes quite fast. Some wags behind us start the Mexican Wave and that does a few loops.
The theatre is full to bursting by 7pm, and just as the show begins, our reserved seating section is thrown open to Joe public and at once 3000 Japanese tourists, obviously looking for revenge for being blockaded at the gates, flock in. They all scurry down to the very front, claiming the front benches, then a few minutes later they all leap back up the steps as the icy cold water from the fountains drenches them.
Poor souls, they werent having much luck tonight! We all shuffle up and fit a few soggy ones on our row.
I was apprehensive about how much the kids would enjoy this, but they both LOVED IT! Jessie was a little wary of the snake, but stays cool. As usual, we are all a little perplexed by the seemingly pointless Pocahontas bit in the middle, but the rest of it is brilliant!
Nanny Sylvie ranks it her top fireworks show and Daniel claps along and loved seeing Mickey at the top of the mountain!
Time to battle our way out of the theatre and reclaim the stroller all done without incident.
It seems as if everyone else has the same idea as us, and are heading over to see the Osbourne Lights. CMs are out with signs, waving everyone in the right direction.
Have to say these lights are truly spectacular! Kids are totally overawed by it all and just stand there with their mouths open! They start a snowfall and it looks amazing! Words cant describe it you have to go and see this for yourself!
Take lots of photos, but not sure how they will come out as its so crowded and I keep getting bumped when taking a picture. Not great when you are using a slow shutter speed!
Got a few good ones and half a dozen blurry ones!
It takes sometime to wander round all of the park that was Osbourned and we eventually finish near the Muppets. Jessie begs to go on, but remembering what Daniel was like here last week, I decide not to. As he didnt eat anything at dinner, I will take him to Pizza Planet whilst the others do the Muppets.
Im thinking Ive got a good deal here! A nice warm restaurant where I can hole up for 15 minutes or so, sipping a diet coke and sharing some fries with my son.
Why is it that all my brilliant plans this holiday are doomed to failure! Just as I wheel Daniel into Pizza Planet a CM appears telling me they are just closing! Noooooooo!
Foiled, we spend the next FORTY MINUTES wandering around the arcade, bored rigid!
Family at last reappear, very apologetic, but they just missed a show and had to sit through the pre show again.
I decide that we have all had quite enough , and head back to the car. The park is now closing anyway and nothing is left open apart from the stores on the main boulevard. Duck in to buy Neils smart new Mickey camera bag and we are soon on board a trolley bus and heading home (well, not home on the trolley bus, but you know what I mean!).
Home 9pm. Hot showers for everyone and bed by 10pm.
[b[Tomorrow Boat Trip at Downtown Disney![/b]
Main Players
Allie
Neil
Jessamy (4)
Daniel Noah (2)
Nanny Sylvie
Sunday, December 26th 2004
Now, the Americans dont do Boxing Day. Today, everything was up and running again as if nothing had ever happened. Whilst those of you in the UK woke to turkey & sprout curry for breakfast
, assorted relatives asleep in every orifice of your house and nothing open but the corner shop, the USA was back in full working order.Hence the reason that they dont have a name for the day after Christmas I guess. For the purposes of this trippie (and the fact that the Americans do not have a clue what the term boxing day refers to) today will be known as Christmas +1
.Daniel had an unsettled night, which of course meant that we did as well. We give up in the early hours and end up watching QVC by 5am. Chuckle at the sheer tenacity of the presenters trying to flog some contraption that will give you Super Abs in only 10 days cheer when some wrinkly old dear manages 6 crunches on her Ab Magic on camera (before being whisked off to the ER just out of shot
). Lets be honest, anything that can make you laugh at that time of the day, deserves some credit!A quick peek outside confirms that the weather has not made any change and that Christmas +1 is looking to be as gloomy and miserable as yesterday.
Decide on a plan of action. We have an early PS at Hollywood & Vine for dinner tonight (4.10pm) as part of the Fantasmic Dinner Package. We intend to also see the Osbourne lights and do a final tour of duty at MGM.
Dont want to head to the park too early, so decide to pop to the Lake Buena Vista Outlets for some shopping.
Arrive just as it opens at 10am. By 10.05 we are running back to the Jeep with frostbite! It was FREEEEEEZING
! There was an icy wind blowing and it was actually too cold to walk round! Manage to buy a couple of presents to take home in the shop we had parked outside and that was it!As Daniel was up at 5am, he is getting sleepy and grumpy (but strangely not Bashful or Happy
) so we decide on a quick brunch from the Burger King and then head back home. Do a drive thru at BK and eat our Whoppers, Big Fish and chicken strips with the luxury of real crockery back at the villa. Oh the refinement! That posh meal at the California Grill must have paid off !Give Daniel a warm bath and pack him off to bed with his Its a small world musical box tinkling beside his cot. Yes, they do sell such a thing, and it is available in Instruments Of Torture R Us stores nationwide
.Jessie spends another afternoon playing with her Christmas presents and we have a very typical boxing day oooh, ahem, I mean Christmas +1 type day ourselves, generally chilling out, nibbling trail mix and watching The Sound Of Music on TV
. Daniel wakes up at 2.45pm and we check the Weather Channel to see what the forecast is for tonight. Yippee, another Freeze Watch for Polk and Osceola counties, a wind chill factor of -2 and a high chance of rain. When the cheery weather person bids us to Have a great evening folks and stay warm we all simultaneously chuck our woolly hats, scarves and mittens at the screen!
As we are (sniff sniff) nearing the end of our epic adventure, we all decide we will brave the weather (even Nanny Sylvie). We adorn ourselves in several layers, pinch blankets from the beds to wrap the kids in and fashion balaclavas from our beach towels (then decided that was just TOO ridiculous and left them at home!).
By 3.30pm we have arrived at MGM (yes, I know they have changed the name to Disney Studios now, but in the interests of nostalgia and my unwillingness to accept change, Im keeping it as MGM for this year I MAY toe the line for Octobers report!).
As we drive into the car park we are horrified that the CM directs us right to the furthest car park away from the entrance! There are several EMPTY lots right near the front and we intend to get one!
Neil assures us he knows a short cut and nips behind the CM, aiming at what looks like a direct route into the front car lot. Naturally, we are foiled by an interception of traffic cones and we have to sheepishly retrace our steps, which, even more embarrassingly, takes us right out of the park altogether! Homer Simpson can supply the perfect word to sum up our plight DOH!
Enter again, carefully choosing a different booth in case we are collared for rubbish driving in and around a theme park and sneak off in a better direction than last time. This time, we are victorious and slip into a lovely spot, right on the end of a row. Sadly still a tad too far to walk, but there was a trolley bus waiting, so alls well in the end!
Being Christmas +1, the park is naturally HEAVING! This is the busiest I have ever seen MGM you can barely walk up the boulevard and there are still people flooding in.
Fight our way round to Hollywood & Vine where there is an enormous line of people at the podium, and I get the thankless task of joining it!
Wait 20 minutes in the line and arrive at the podium bang on my PS time. I am not that happy to be told that I will still have a 25 / 30 minute wait for my table. Yes, I hear you cry, but a PS isnt a reservation for a set time yes I know that BUT what had annoyed me was that two families in front of me were walk ins and had gotten a table straight away! That seemed a bit off.
I did query this with the girl at the podium (being careful to stay nice and polite of course) and she replied I am doing my best its so busy, I am sorry. Well at least she apologised and it wasnt her fault, so I smile and say thanks.
I am most surprised to be paged only a couple of minutes later anyway, so no harm done. I do wonder though if the PS system maybe needs a bit of an overhaul at busy times. It works well enough most of the time, but breaks down with big crowds. Maybe two lines to the podium one for people with PSs the other for Walk Ins? Just a thought.
Now, we are quite big fans of H&V, having eaten here a few times in the past. Last year we also did the Fantasmic dinner Package, but being a hot and balmy July evening, it was cancelled due a thunderstorm of biblical proportions. Neil and I had managed to see it earlier that holiday, but none of the others had yet managed it!
We are seated in a booth and our waitress was, let me say this tactfully, one of Americas more senior citizens. In fact, she looked suspiciously like the old dear in the Ab Magic ad on QVC this morning. Perhaps waitressing was a happier choice of career for those in advancing years to that of Ab Magic demonstrator.
Oh, I digress again, anyway, yes, she was ancient this lady and both Neil and I felt simply awful seeing her struggle with huge trays of drinks. We both felt the urge to sit her down and take over her section. Joking aside, we were actually quite distressed about this. Dont get me wrong, Im not being ageist (wonder if Nanny Sylvie fancies a stint as a Disney waitress??) but she could barely lift her tray and was obviously struggling big time. Surely she would be better off on the podium taking ressies than doing this job?
This kind of took the edge off our meal as we were so worried about her
. The food too, was a disappointment. Whether the sheer volume of people here today meant they were having to take less time to prepare the food than normal or just that we caught it on a bad day, I dont know. The steak was a little rubbery, pot roast mediocre and the veggies soggy. Daniel refused to eat a thing and Jessie (who will usually eat anything) confined herself to a chicken drumstick and some pasta.
We are given our Fantasmic vouchers and instructions to enter by the gate next to Oscars. The check was $85 plus tip.
Even though we didnt have the best meal here today, Im sure we will be back, as it is usually one of our best eateries of our trip.
Leave at 5.15pm and wander round the Studios. Nanny Sylvie isnt relishing the thought of an outdoor show tonight and buys yet another woollen hat. Jessie manages to blag one too. Daniel, as usual, refuses to wear one and just has the hood of his fleece (which is under his Mickey leather jacket!).
Go and check out where the back door is to Fantasmic and find that easy enough, so remember for later on. Its getting colder, and no one is that enthusiastic about doing any rides! When even the male members of your party choose browsing the shops over riding Rock and Rollercoaster, you KNOW its cold!
Nanny Sylvie hasnt bought Neil anything for his Christmas present yet, so when he spots a very nice black camera bag in the Photo store, she offers to get it for him. Decide to buy on the way back though, to save dragging it to the show.
Decide to go and get our seats for Fantasmic now, and join the looooong line of people waiting to gain admittance via the back door. Just as we are about to enter, Jessie decides she needs to go and needs to go RIGHT NOW!
. Brilliant timing!Fortunately, Mr Disney has had the foresight to put a handy set of restrooms right next to the Fantasmic entrance, so we dont have far to travel
!Jessie is well rehearsed in by passing queues in restrooms by bellowing Mummy if I dont go NOW I am going to wet my pants. Like Moses parting the waves, the line of ladies parts and allows Jessie the next available cubicle. 4 year olds have several uses that come in quite handy sometimes!
Meet up with the others, who have had a jolly few minutes watching every Japanese tourist in the park try and get in the back door entrance, but WITHOUT a voucher. Marvel at the CMs efforts to try and convey the fact that they did indeed need a little green ticket to gain entry and wonder at the sign language used to spell out you cant come in without a ticket. Usually it was a thumb jerked over a shoulder and two words, one being off
.Dodge past the entire population of Tokyo clogging up the entrance and begin our trek to the theatre.
One didnt count on the fact that this wasnt a pleasant stroll, but more of an evening hike. Where was this darn theatre anyway Alabama?
After a mile or three, we happen across a Stroller parking lot where we have to remove young Daniel from the cosy, blanket ensconced haven of his buggy. He isnt impressed and daddy has to carry him the rest of the way.
Finally, we see the theatre and the very jovial CM greets us with Welcome to Freezetasmic folks!
.Glad to report we get great seats and a lovely view over the stage. We set up camp with our blankets and it isnt long before the kids have managed to extract more of those glowing stick things from us.
Look, here we are (except me, behind the camera as usual!)
There is still 30 minutes till the show, but surprisingly, it goes quite fast. Some wags behind us start the Mexican Wave and that does a few loops.
The theatre is full to bursting by 7pm, and just as the show begins, our reserved seating section is thrown open to Joe public and at once 3000 Japanese tourists, obviously looking for revenge for being blockaded at the gates, flock in. They all scurry down to the very front, claiming the front benches, then a few minutes later they all leap back up the steps as the icy cold water from the fountains drenches them.
Poor souls, they werent having much luck tonight! We all shuffle up and fit a few soggy ones on our row.
I was apprehensive about how much the kids would enjoy this, but they both LOVED IT! Jessie was a little wary of the snake, but stays cool. As usual, we are all a little perplexed by the seemingly pointless Pocahontas bit in the middle, but the rest of it is brilliant!
Nanny Sylvie ranks it her top fireworks show and Daniel claps along and loved seeing Mickey at the top of the mountain!
Time to battle our way out of the theatre and reclaim the stroller all done without incident.
It seems as if everyone else has the same idea as us, and are heading over to see the Osbourne Lights. CMs are out with signs, waving everyone in the right direction.
Have to say these lights are truly spectacular! Kids are totally overawed by it all and just stand there with their mouths open! They start a snowfall and it looks amazing! Words cant describe it you have to go and see this for yourself!
Take lots of photos, but not sure how they will come out as its so crowded and I keep getting bumped when taking a picture. Not great when you are using a slow shutter speed!
Got a few good ones and half a dozen blurry ones!
It takes sometime to wander round all of the park that was Osbourned and we eventually finish near the Muppets. Jessie begs to go on, but remembering what Daniel was like here last week, I decide not to. As he didnt eat anything at dinner, I will take him to Pizza Planet whilst the others do the Muppets.
Im thinking Ive got a good deal here! A nice warm restaurant where I can hole up for 15 minutes or so, sipping a diet coke and sharing some fries with my son.
Why is it that all my brilliant plans this holiday are doomed to failure! Just as I wheel Daniel into Pizza Planet a CM appears telling me they are just closing! Noooooooo!
Foiled, we spend the next FORTY MINUTES wandering around the arcade, bored rigid!
Family at last reappear, very apologetic, but they just missed a show and had to sit through the pre show again.
I decide that we have all had quite enough
, and head back to the car. The park is now closing anyway and nothing is left open apart from the stores on the main boulevard. Duck in to buy Neils smart new Mickey camera bag and we are soon on board a trolley bus and heading home (well, not home on the trolley bus, but you know what I mean!).Home 9pm. Hot showers for everyone and bed by 10pm.
[b[Tomorrow Boat Trip at Downtown Disney![/b]
