Christmas - Done Differently

[lovethattink]

As dessert came out, the parade started. Much to my surprise, it was the Christmas parade and we had the best seats in the house!!

After lunch we went to Buzz Lightyear. The fast pass line was no where near the fast pass entrance. A cm held a sign and was trying to keep the queue in order. Once we figured it out, we were good to go. Once inside the building, the family in front of us was acting up. The dad had the daughter in a headlock and they were thrashing to and fro. We gave them plenty of space because they came close to crashing into us a couple times. I was so busy keeping and eye on them, that I missed what was happening in the stand-by queue. I heard someone say a disgusted, "REALLY!?" Then I heard shuffling. Dh said fists were flying a two adults were slinging it out. A very small cm, not much taller than me and nice and thin, politely came through our line toget to the standby line. Another cm was keeping our line moving. When I looked back again the cm and the people swinging it out were gone.

After the ride, we heard music and went to check it out. Surprise #2, it was a Christmas show with characters!

The crowds were pretty thick. Anakin was a bit anxious. We decided to walk to the Contemporary and check out their gingerbread display.

When we arrived at the MK we noticed the NBC popcorn coffin. My niece has a huge NBC collection. I knew I had to get her one.

Continued...

 

[WDWRids]

Hi! Merry late Christmas!! Hope you all had a great holiday. Great report......cm's were awesome again..loved Santa and the chef! That bag is fantastic! Ive got to have one! Do you think they have online? Ill check in the morning. Amazing location for the parade.

Cant believe the fight.......some people!

 

[blessedmom4]

WONDERFUL day Tink or as JJ would say Best day EVER! Well, except for the juvenile fight at Buzz I can't stand things like that. LOVE how good the CM's are with JJ and he looks so happy with the Candy Canes. His hat fits him perfectly and is perfect for hiding his eyes and staying warm. I am with him, I like it warm (not hot either). Thank you for sharing such awesome pics/memories with us! AWESOME spot to see the parade and then a show as well! yes, Best Day EVER!!!

Okay you asked if it was THE famous fight at the Tea Cups we witnessed...what was the famous fight, this one was pretty bad....and scary....

Give JJ a hug from his long haired girls! Keep one for you. I wish I was in Florida (but NOT at Disney with all of the crowds).

 

[mommy2mrb]

what a magical day you had! so awesome Captain Bob took the time with Anakin and bonus getting the boat cards!
yay for being first to see Santa and another wonderful CM!
so great Chef Ken remembers you all and takes the time to visit!
nice photos of the parade and party...love Mike in the santa hat!
so awful about the fighting in line, people are so rude! hope they were banned from the park!

 

[lovethattink]

Hi! Merry late Christmas!! Hope you all had a great holiday. Great report......cm's were awesome again..loved Santa and the chef! That bag is fantastic! Ive got to have one! Do you think they have online? Ill check in the morning. Amazing location for the parade.

Cant believe the fight.......some people!

Merry late Christmas right back at you!

The cm's really are wonderful. It's a big part of what keeps us going to Disney over the other central FL parks.

They are Harvey's bags. I think they should be available online. They are rediculously expensive and made out of seatbelts. I have a red one and it very quickly got dirty. I can only imagine how easy the white one would show dirt.

The location for the parade was at our table inside The Plaza Restaurant! Best seat in the house for sure!

WONDERFUL day Tink or as JJ would say Best day EVER! Well, except for the juvenile fight at Buzz I can't stand things like that. LOVE how good the CM's are with JJ and he looks so happy with the Candy Canes. His hat fits him perfectly and is perfect for hiding his eyes and staying warm. I am with him, I like it warm (not hot either). Thank you for sharing such awesome pics/memories with us! AWESOME spot to see the parade and then a show as well! yes, Best Day EVER!!!

Okay you asked if it was THE famous fight at the Tea Cups we witnessed...what was the famous fight, this one was pretty bad....and scary....

Give JJ a hug from his long haired girls! Keep one for you. I wish I was in Florida (but NOT at Disney with all of the crowds).

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,340229,00.html this was the famous tea cup case.

It was true pixie dusting getting that location at the restaurant. It was perfect for parade viewing.

what a magical day you had! so awesome Captain Bob took the time with Anakin and bonus getting the boat cards!
yay for being first to see Santa and another wonderful CM!
so great Chef Ken remembers you all and takes the time to visit!
nice photos of the parade and party...love Mike in the santa hat!
so awful about the fighting in line, people are so rude! hope they were banned from the park!

Thanks. I just love the hand in hand with Santa. Reminds me of the Mickey commercials.

There are 3 Chef Kens, perhaps more. We have run into a different one at the Coral Reef and another I hear works at V&A's.

Mike and Stitch were dressed for Christmas, but I didn't catch anything on Buzz?

We heard alot of hot tempers at Disney and we were only there a couple hours that day. It's peak season. I don't think most people really understand what peak season means? I think it was in the Unofficial Guide to Disney that I once read something about being able to jump in the air and just have the crowd transport you, lol. That's almost sums it up. It's busy, lines are long, and it's whatever you chose to make out of it. We chose a slow, relaxing pace. Santa, lunch while watching the parade, Buzz and the show in Tomorrowland, before heading over to the Contemporary. We really did have a best day ever.

 

[mommy2mrb]

oh my on the tea cups fight! people are just crazy!

I've already told Megan not to expect to ride everything next year...the trip will be about seeing the decorations, storytellers, parties, lights and just taking in all of the christmas magic!

 

[lovethattink]

oh my on the tea cups fight! people are just crazy!

I've already told Megan not to expect to ride everything next year...the trip will be about seeing the decorations, storytellers, parties, lights and just taking in all of the christmas magic!

If you get to a park at RD, the queues aren't bad. But there is just so much extra to do from Thanksgiving through New Year's. You'll be amazed at how many extra food and snack carts they add. People watching can be fun too.

 

[lovethattink]

Leaving the MK we saw the new rfid entrance.

I've often wondered why the trash cans at the Contemporary are so plain and the ones at the Yacht and Beach Club are so pretty?

It has been years since we've been to the Contemporary. Years ago, we use to go every other Friday night for pin trading. So lots of memories came back. Back then Grumpy had to cast members who looked for him, Dottie and Barbara. Sadly Dottie has passed and Barbara has retired. Grumpy use to draw pictures for them, bring them goodies, etc.

It was nice to see Bay Lake Tower up close.

And the Contemporary

Inside the Contemporary, 1st floor

The elevator

4th Floor

[/IMG]​

 

[mommy2mrb]

can't wait to see all the decorations! know it will be so magical!

sorry your pin trading buddies are no longer there, what great memories though!

 

[lovethattink]

can't wait to see all the decorations! know it will be so magical!

sorry your pin trading buddies are no longer there, what great memories though!

I'm sure you'll just love all the decorations!

They were very special to Grumpy when he was young. They ran the kid's trading board.

 

[KatMark]

Sorry I was behind....the holidays and going away this weekend has me all behind again. Love the MK updates.

Happy New Year!

 

[kaoden39]

What a great day! Minus the fight of course. I don't understand how people can be like that. I try to look at life as a great adventure that shouldn't be spoiled by petty behavior. I love the picture of Santa walking Anakin to the visiting area.

 

[lovethattink]

Sorry I was behind....the holidays and going away this weekend has me all behind again. Love the MK updates.

Happy New Year!

No worries. Thanks!

The holidays have come and nearly gone too fast. Anakin is sick, coughing up a storm. I had hoped to see some more decorations. We did get to Epcot and the Yacht and Beach Club on Christmas Eve. Will be posting that next.

What a great day! Minus the fight of course. I don't understand how people can be like that. I try to look at life as a great adventure that shouldn't be spoiled by petty behavior. I love the picture of Santa walking Anakin to the visiting area.

It really was a nice relaxing day. The fight was other peoples foolishness. Good outlook. Thanks, I love that picture too it's very tender.

 

[lovethattink]

Christmas Eve Day​

We started going to a different church. This church has a special needs ministry that is out of this world. Anakin is given a buddy or shadow who takes him to both Sunday School and Children's Church. If he is overstimulated the buddy takes him to the special needs room (which is actually giant and has 4 rooms and a bathroom in it) so he can take a break. This is great because no longer are kids touching him or his head phones or asking questions he doesn't feel like answering about them. The buddy will field the questions and explain. The buddy is usually a college student majoring in education or psychology. They are all CPR certified. The buddy will also assist with any reading or writing help that is needed, and make sure he doesn't get lost or leave the building while finding his classes.

So what does this have to do with the TR? It was Christmas Eve and traditionally we go to church on Christmas Eve. This new church has a midnight service, so we had the whole day at our disposal and Epcot was where we decided to go!

It’s been a long standing joke in the family that when someone asked where did we park, Goofy will answer, “Create 48.” My mom would always fall for it and write it down. Guess what? This time we really did park in Create 48!

Our only plan was to see some of the storytellers we missed. But as we were walking by the fountain we saw the singers getting ready to go on the stage so we decided to stop and see the show. It was a high energy gospel choir called Joyful Noise.

From here we headed to the right in World Showcase since we went left the last time. France was the next storyteller, so that was our goal. We passed by the popcorn cart and this time I got a better picture of the Perry stuff.

Off Kilter was performing as we walked by there.

We got to France early and hung out watching the Agent P game others were playing. We all decided we were hungry and it was getting close to supper time. At the same time we all said Beaches & Cream. We hadn’t eaten here since last year during SWW.

Much to our surprise we were seated right away and the restaurant was mostly empty!

Anakin loves these

The menu had changed since our last time there. The server said it changed a couple months ago.

We no sooner sat down and the lights started spinning on the ceiling. Someone had ordered the kitchen sink.

I really like tomato bisque, so I was trying to decide between getting dessert and then just ordering tomato bisque. It was $5.99 for just the soup, or $8.99 for the grilled cheese and tomato bisque. Our server said this grilled cheese was really good and was different from a traditional grilled cheese. I went with her recommendation and got the grilled cheese and tomato bisque. While it’s not on the menu, Anakin ordered a kid’s grilled cheese meal. His was a traditional grilled cheese on white bread with yellow cheese, not the 6-blend grilled cheese I got on sour dough bread. Goofy ordered a burger. They say you are what you eat, so he must be a burger.

He has been slowly losing weight, just over 20 pounds since last year’s SWW. I am doing Weight Watchers online and I showed him one of the very cool tools where you build your own meal and see how many points it would cost you. He couldn’t believe how everything he loves, the cheeses, the sauces, quickly add up the points. So he’s been getting burgers with ketchup and mustard, lettuce and tomato and letting the buns sit. He loves burgers and this is a way to keep the points at a good level. Let’s just say I blew it with my sandwich. I also got dessert, so I ended up borrowing from my extra weekly points. But not just one dessert, I got a Frozen Sunshine to drink too.

While we were eating, the place quickly filled up with people. We were in a booth.

The people next to us were a large party who were celebrating a birthday. They filled up the counter space plus two tables. They ordered not one, but two kitchen sinks. I had never seen anything like this. They all got out of their seats and flocked to the counter to watch their desserts being made.
When the server brought them out, they ran back to their seats.

After watching all these Kitchen Sinks being brought out, Anakin wanted to get one too. That wasn’t happening, so he settled for the ice cream that came with his kid’s meal.

Dh and I decided to try a new menu item. We got the Grilled Banana Bread, it came with peanut butter sauce between the slices and vanilla ice cream topped with caramelized bananas, chocolate syrup, nuts and whipped cream.

The ice cream and caramelized bananas were amazing. The grilled banana bread was not so amazing. It was mediocre at best. Goofy and I shared this. We ate all the ice cream, but there was still banana bread left.

We have a tradition in our family. Every Christmas season we go to the Yacht Club and get a picture of our children at the train display and the tree. This time it was not children, it was just child. Grumpy was home sick. He spent his afternoon sleeping. Traditionally I would use these pictures for our Christmas cards and we’d take the pictures Thanksgiving weekend. It was kind of emotional for me to take them of just one child. Anakin picked up on it and he acted out a little. He missed his brother too. (I’ll post those pictures at the end.) He talked about how they’d take pictures here at the train and there. And they’d stop at the giant wreath and Big Brother would act like he was holding up the wreath.

I've got too many pictures, the silly pictures will have to go in the next post.

 

[lovethattink]

Now the silly pictures

And have to get some Star Wars in here…

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Wow that picture of an empty B&C is probably the first I've seen like that Everything looks delicious, I really need to eat there sometime! I love the pictures of your son in front of the Christmas tree! So cute

 

[lovethattink]

Wow that picture of an empty B&C is probably the first I've seen like that Everything looks delicious, I really need to eat there sometime! I love the pictures of your son in front of the Christmas tree! So cute

I don't think I have ever seen B&C empty. Usually we have to wait a long time to be seated. It was great to be seated immediately.

The food was very good. Yes, you definately should try to squeeze it into your plans.

Thanks!

 

[WDWRids]

The buddy system at your new church sounds amazing! What a great experience for Anakin!

Epcot on Christmas Eve sounds amazing. The group from Joyful Noise was really having a great time. I bet they were entertaining. Beaches and Cream is now on my "must eat at" list. The food looks fabulous and love the atmosphere! How are you doing with WW? I'm debatting joining but need to do something.

Anakin was a ham in those Yacht Club photos......love his infectious smile.

 

[lovethattink]

The buddy system at your new church sounds amazing! What a great experience for Anakin!

Epcot on Christmas Eve sounds amazing. The group from Joyful Noise was really having a great time. I bet they were entertaining. Beaches and Cream is now on my "must eat at" list. The food looks fabulous and love the atmosphere! How are you doing with WW? I'm debatting joining but need to do something.

Anakin was a ham in those Yacht Club photos......love his infectious smile.

I'm still doing Tuesday morning Bible study at the old church and Grumpy goes to the old one by himself on Sundays before work. Dh doesn't want to transfer memberships and I'm almost afraid to form relationships at this new one. It's 100% better for Anakin and he never wants to leave once he gets there.

I'm sure you'll enjoy Beaches & Cream. Just keep in mind it's usually not this empty, and there is typically a wait. They give you a pager usually.

I'm doing OK with weight watchers. I've gone from a size 14 to a 10. I love all the online tools. There really is no excuse for me not tracking points all the time. There is an app for the phone too.

He is a total goof ball sometimes. Yesterday was not a good day for him and a totally different side of him was unleashed. I'm so thankful those days are few and far between. Mostly he is happy and silly.

 

[mommy2mrb]

we need to plan on having lunch at B & C with you guys! haven't been since 2008 and the menu is making me HUNGRY!

love the photos of Anakin, he looks very handsome in his sweater sorry Grumpy wasn't there with you all.

your new church sounds wonderful! how great Anakin has a special buddy to help him through the day