Commencing Operation Christmas Miracle Trip 2010: PTR

[jenseib]

WElcome back! I can't wait to hear all about your trip!!!

 

[PoppyGirl]

We are back from our trip and we had a great time. I LOVED AKL!!! LOVED IT!! Even though it was cold, we had a good time and enjoyed our trip a lot. Everyone had their moments of course....but overall, it was a really good trip. Everyone is completely exhausted now!

If we had waited one more day to leave, we might have been snowed in at WDW as it's snowing up a storm here now. Oh well. We are cozy warm and enjoying our memories from our trip. Hopefully I'll have time to post a TR.


A few observations:

1. we loved Club Level--loved the lounge and the snacks--really enjoyed getting to go up there and get refreshments whenever. They were GOOD too! Found this new liqueur that I will have to find in the real world--Amarula. YUM!

2. did not see ANY animals from our room while on CL. Not one.

3. saw TONS of animals from our savannah view room. Zebras, giraffes, other strange looking animals I can't remember but very fun--every morning and afternoon. Lovely. I was so happy!

4. was not impressed at all with Mara. Adult meals were a little better than the kid meals. But really not impressed. I think Pop's food court is much better.

5. LOVED the sunrise safari and breakfast. Now I want to go back and do the sunset one! Our guide was great and we got tons of photos. The breakfast was awesome.

6. Somehow the dietary request form only made it to the sunrise safari breakfast chef and the dessert party chef. NONE of the other places had it in the system. Strange. DH did ok with that though. We just asked to speak to the chef each time. The one at LeCellier was FABULOUS! Our meal there was the best of the trip.

7. LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the Candlelight processional. It was beautiful. Totally worth it.

8. And the Osborne lights were absolutely indescribable. Even standing there in the middle of them, there were no words. It just completely envelopes you in a spirit of Christmas.

9. The dessert party was really nice--it was WAAAAAY too cold to enjoy it much that night and we were not properly dressed but it was very nice and I recommend it!

10. Really enjoyed the MVMCP. The fireworks and parade made the whole thing worthwhile. We totally walked onto rides all night long. Plus the dis-meet was fun!

11. The only real negative thing I have to say was regarding the bus transportation, especially to and from AKL. We missed one event and almost missed another even though I had allowed PLENTY of time for us to get there using the buses. We would watch bus after bus come for other resorts, even totally empty busses drive by us and there would be none for AKL. We waited 45 minutes at DTD for a bus and then when it stopped at Pleasure Island, they had to load 2 huge scooters and then they changed bus drivers and then 2 people had gotten on the wrong bus and the bus driver stopped at another place to let them get off!!!!!!!!!! That was the night we almost missed our sleigh ride at Fort Wilderness. I had allowed 1.5 hours for us to get from DTD to FW....we were about 5 minutes late. Finally, after about 5 days of this I said something to the concierge as we were there trading pins. The next day....GREAT bus service.

12. The sleigh ride was ok. The horse was beautiful and it was a nice ride. Not sure I'd do that one again though.



Tidbits I learned for next time:

• always pre-wash all new clothes to be worn by children who will invariably complain about "itchiness" of new clothes.
• never, ever schedule a late night event followed by an early morning event--no matter how fabulous it is, you won't enjoy it as much as you could if you weren't tired!
• when children say they don't want to see Santa, LISTEN to them!
• allow more time for shopping. Shopping is VERY important to a happy Disney vacation. It should never, ever be rushed!

 

[Mich123]

Welcome back! I was thinking of you all week and hoping that the weather didn't dampen your spirits. Glad to hear you had a great trip!!!

 

[Tinkermom76]

Hey I'm back, and I second that the DIS meet was fun!!! Glad you had a good time!

 

[Tinker_Tam]

Welcome home!!

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

We are back from our trip and we had a great time. I LOVED AKL!!! LOVED IT!! Even though it was cold, we had a good time and enjoyed our trip a lot. Everyone had their moments of course....but overall, it was a really good trip. Everyone is completely exhausted now!

If we had waited one more day to leave, we might have been snowed in at WDW as it's snowing up a storm here now. Oh well. We are cozy warm and enjoying our memories from our trip. Hopefully I'll have time to post a TR.


A few observations:

1. we loved Club Level--loved the lounge and the snacks--really enjoyed getting to go up there and get refreshments whenever. They were GOOD too! Found this new liqueur that I will have to find in the real world--Amarula. YUM!

2. did not see ANY animals from our room while on CL. Not one.

3. saw TONS of animals from our savannah view room. Zebras, giraffes, other strange looking animals I can't remember but very fun--every morning and afternoon. Lovely. I was so happy!

4. was not impressed at all with Mara. Adult meals were a little better than the kid meals. But really not impressed. I think Pop's food court is much better.

5. LOVED the sunrise safari and breakfast. Now I want to go back and do the sunset one! Our guide was great and we got tons of photos. The breakfast was awesome.

6. Somehow the dietary request form only made it to the sunrise safari breakfast chef and the dessert party chef. NONE of the other places had it in the system. Strange. DH did ok with that though. We just asked to speak to the chef each time. The one at LeCellier was FABULOUS! Our meal there was the best of the trip.

7. LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the Candlelight processional. It was beautiful. Totally worth it.

8. And the Osborne lights were absolutely indescribable. Even standing there in the middle of them, there were no words. It just completely envelopes you in a spirit of Christmas.

9. The dessert party was really nice--it was WAAAAAY too cold to enjoy it much that night and we were not properly dressed but it was very nice and I recommend it!

10. Really enjoyed the MVMCP. The fireworks and parade made the whole thing worthwhile. We totally walked onto rides all night long. Plus the dis-meet was fun!

11. The only real negative thing I have to say was regarding the bus transportation, especially to and from AKL. We missed one event and almost missed another even though I had allowed PLENTY of time for us to get there using the buses. We would watch bus after bus come for other resorts, even totally empty busses drive by us and there would be none for AKL. We waited 45 minutes at DTD for a bus and then when it stopped at Pleasure Island, they had to load 2 huge scooters and then they changed bus drivers and then 2 people had gotten on the wrong bus and the bus driver stopped at another place to let them get off!!!!!!!!!! That was the night we almost missed our sleigh ride at Fort Wilderness. I had allowed 1.5 hours for us to get from DTD to FW....we were about 5 minutes late. Finally, after about 5 days of this I said something to the concierge as we were there trading pins. The next day....GREAT bus service.

12. The sleigh ride was ok. The horse was beautiful and it was a nice ride. Not sure I'd do that one again though.



Tidbits I learned for next time:

• always pre-wash all new clothes to be worn by children who will invariably complain about "itchiness" of new clothes.
• never, ever schedule a late night event followed by an early morning event--no matter how fabulous it is, you won't enjoy it as much as you could if you weren't tired!
• when children say they don't want to see Santa, LISTEN to them!
• allow more time for shopping. Shopping is VERY important to a happy Disney vacation. It should never, ever be rushed!

My daughter love the Mara. I didn't think it was that great, but go my refillable coffee mug so it wasn't all bad. They need to give you a way into it without going outside though.

I liked the Osbourne lights, I didn't like the crowd though. The night we saw it, it was packed. Trying to get to it the crowd control people sent us down around the Muppets 3D. It was Wall-to-Wall people. We got to the end of the off shoot from Streets of America, and it was closed off, we had to continue around to get to walk up the street. It was Way too crowded once we finally got to walk down the street so I think that took away from it for us.

Our MVMCP was sold out so it was a bit crowded. Didn't get to see the Dwarves, the line was too long, and I didn't want to spend the time. Did get to meet the Princes and Princesses, see the fireworks, and watch the late parade.

I agree about the busses at AKL. We were waiting for EPCOT the one day, and there were 3 MK buses stacked up. We saw 6 MK busses before our EPCOT Bus came. It was packed and we couldn't get on, had to wait for another one. Thought that was rediculous.

We had 8 am ressies at Akershus the morning after MVMCP. Not the best idea I had for my trip.

Now I need to figure out a name for a Trip Report and start one. I noticed my ticker says 11 months... til my next trip, did I win a free trip or something?

 

[2kids2luv]

Welcome back! Glad you had a wonderful trip and can't wait to hear all about it. We were at AKL the first week in Dec and were not impressed by Mara either. We were happily surprised by how good the buses were though. We waited once for ~20 for MK after seeing 3 buses for every other park go by and then 1 full MK. We also had great luck leaving the parks and getting one the first bus back.

 

[PoppyGirl]

Welcome back! I was thinking of you all week and hoping that the weather didn't dampen your spirits. Glad to hear you had a great trip!!!

That's nice! Thanks for thinking of us. It was sunny except for one day and the sun is far more important to me than the heat!

Hey I'm back, and I second that the DIS meet was fun!!! Glad you had a good time!

It was so much fun to meet some of my dis friends in person! Your mom is a hoot! I really enjoyed talking to her. And your kids are something else too--friendliest girls ever!

Welcome home!!

I was following your trip on FB. I'm so glad you got to take your trip!

My daughter love the Mara. I didn't think it was that great, but go my refillable coffee mug so it wasn't all bad. They need to give you a way into it without going outside though.

I liked the Osbourne lights, I didn't like the crowd though. The night we saw it, it was packed. Trying to get to it the crowd control people sent us down around the Muppets 3D. It was Wall-to-Wall people. We got to the end of the off shoot from Streets of America, and it was closed off, we had to continue around to get to walk up the street. It was Way too crowded once we finally got to walk down the street so I think that took away from it for us.

Our MVMCP was sold out so it was a bit crowded. Didn't get to see the Dwarves, the line was too long, and I didn't want to spend the time. Did get to meet the Princes and Princesses, see the fireworks, and watch the late parade.

I agree about the busses at AKL. We were waiting for EPCOT the one day, and there were 3 MK buses stacked up. We saw 6 MK busses before our EPCOT Bus came. It was packed and we couldn't get on, had to wait for another one. Thought that was rediculous.

We had 8 am ressies at Akershus the morning after MVMCP. Not the best idea I had for my trip.

Now I need to figure out a name for a Trip Report and start one. I noticed my ticker says 11 months... til my next trip, did I win a free trip or something?

I met Tinkermom76 waiting in line for the Dwarves so we spent the wait chatting a bit. We were about 10th in line. It was really crowded for us getting INTO the Osborne lights but once we were on the street it opened up a bit. I'm very sad that DH and DD missed it. They would have loved it. I thoroughly enjoyed that event!

Welcome back! Glad you had a wonderful trip and can't wait to hear all about it. We were at AKL the first week in Dec and were not impressed by Mara either. We were happily surprised by how good the buses were though. We waited once for ~20 for MK after seeing 3 buses for every other park go by and then 1 full MK. We also had great luck leaving the parks and getting one the first bus back.

Yeah, I think I expected a little bit better from a deluxe resort. I guess I should have complained earlier about the busses, but I'm not really a complainer....I'm usually pretty patient, but it got to the point where we were missing or nearly missing things when I had allowed plenty of time....it was a little frustrating.


BFF and I are taking our girls for a brief trip in Feb. A friend gave me a free week at her timeshare at Bonnett Creek, so I've decided to rent a car. We'll see how that goes. I have driven there once before when BFF and I took our sons for a competition in June 2009 so hopefully I'll be able to manage it ok. One thing I'd like to do since we'll have a car is to visit the huge outlet store. Anyone been there? A girls' trip means more shopping! Woot!

 

[Tinkermom76]

It was so much fun to meet some of my dis friends in person! Your mom is a hoot! I really enjoyed talking to her. And your kids are something else too--friendliest girls ever!

We enjoyed the meet too and I think Eryka has a friend for life in Ethan!

 

[exwdwcm]

welcome back- sounds like a great time overall. sorry it was so cold for the dessert party, we had that issue last year too. are you going to do a TR? I'd love to read it all. How long were you in the CL room again? I agree, the Mara is okay, but definitely not up the standards or selection of the other resorts, of course the value and mods have huge food courts compared to the deluxes. We didn't even try the contempo cafe once- but hopefully will next time.

 

[PoppyGirl]

welcome back- sounds like a great time overall. sorry it was so cold for the dessert party, we had that issue last year too. are you going to do a TR? I'd love to read it all. How long were you in the CL room again? I agree, the Mara is okay, but definitely not up the standards or selection of the other resorts, of course the value and mods have huge food courts compared to the deluxes. We didn't even try the contempo cafe once- but hopefully will next time.

Yep...I'm planning a trip report. How are you all managing to write one now??? I'm trying to catch up and be ready for Christmas! Travelling in December has put me way behind! I hope you guys will stick with me until I can find the time to write!

 

[Tinkermom76]

Yep...I'm planning a trip report. How are you all managing to write one now??? I'm trying to catch up and be ready for Christmas! Travelling in December has put me way behind! I hope you guys will stick with me until I can find the time to write!

lol ours will be done so reading yours will give us something to do!!!

Have you been over to my TR yet?

 

[exwdwcm]

Yep...I'm planning a trip report. How are you all managing to write one now??? I'm trying to catch up and be ready for Christmas! Travelling in December has put me way behind! I hope you guys will stick with me until I can find the time to write!

lol, we will definitely wait! i find time here and there at work, i have an office job, so it is a nice break to work on it instead of actual work. lol

 

[stephielela]

Welcome back!!! I can't wait to read all about it! I feel like January is going to be spent reading TR's and writing mine, lol. Can't wait to see all the different events through other people's experiences!

 

[PoppyGirl]

Hello faithful readers....I am not lost...or dead. (WHEW!) I haven't had a chance to start a trip report yet but I'm hoping to get one going soon. I ordered our photopass CD and haven't even had time to upload the photos yet!

Lots of big news around our house:

1. DSS took the job in Corpus Christi, TX, moved to Padre Island to his new place on the beach, took his TX state licensing exam (and passed--WOOT! ) and will be starting his new job as a vet there next week. So we miss him now that he's gone, but it's a great thing for him.

2. DD and I are taking a "girls only" Disney trip with my BFF and her DD Feb. 12-16. A friend of mine GAVE me a week at Bonnet Creek and I'm actually getting really excited about staying there! I've mapquested everyplace we'll be going since I'll be renting a car and have our trip pretty much planned out. (Hmmmm....maybe I should do a PTR on that one??! ) It's less than 30 days and I don't even have a ticker yet!!! It's going to be a very relaxing trip. We are doing a bunch of character meals and shopping...you know...eat and shop...girl stuff.

3. I have a JOB INTERVEIW today! I "retired" from my psychology practice about 8 years ago when DD was born but some very dear friends that I've worked with in the past would like me to come and work with them again.....so today I meet with the owners of the practice. I have really mixed feelings about it--very excited at the prospect of being all professional again--and a little hesitant to give up my life of "doing what I want when I want" to take on a real job. Well....the job I have as office manager at my church is a REAL job, but my boss is so amazing and wonderful and understanding about my mom duties (and of course my Disney obsession ) that I don't know as I want to give that up. I have been exceptionally happy here.

So, that's what's up with us....I've been thinking a lot about all of my readers...how is everyone?

 

[jenseib]

I've been thinking about you. Glad everything is going well for you all. My Dh is still being a pin in the rear. He wants to postpone the trip now....possibly May. I am giving him the cold shoulder at the moment.
As for your job, do what you think will make you most happy. I sometimes think about going back to work, but I know things will be so rushed and hard. I really enjoy time with Claire as a SAHM. I want a job that pays a ton for about 4 hours a day and no weekends. LOL!

 

[exwdwcm]

yeah, welcome back- still here as promised!

great news for your DSS, let me know what clinic he is at and i will see if my cousin happens to know (she lives in CC too and apparently from what i have seen on FB, does a lot of work with the shelters there).

yeah for a girls only trip!!! shopping and eating- right up my alley! We did a girls trip to DL in sept- mom, me, my 2 sisters and my cousin (who is like a second mom to us). WE shopped so much! in fact, we laughed on the first day when we had to remind ourselves to actually ride a ride in between all the shopping. it was fun to go in every store and not worry about DH waiting for me.

can't wait to read about the Dec trip though!

 

[PoppyGirl]

I've been thinking about you. Glad everything is going well for you all. My Dh is still being a pin in the rear. He wants to postpone the trip now....possibly May. I am giving him the cold shoulder at the moment.
As for your job, do what you think will make you most happy. I sometimes think about going back to work, but I know things will be so rushed and hard. I really enjoy time with Claire as a SAHM. I want a job that pays a ton for about 4 hours a day and no weekends. LOL!

The being rushed and more difficult part is one of my hesitations. My commute right now is only 3 minutes. If I start working as a therapist again, I'll be driving 20-30 minutes, which isn't bad, but boy do I love my 3 minute drive right now!

yeah, welcome back- still here as promised!

great news for your DSS, let me know what clinic he is at and i will see if my cousin happens to know (she lives in CC too and apparently from what i have seen on FB, does a lot of work with the shelters there).

yeah for a girls only trip!!! shopping and eating- right up my alley! We did a girls trip to DL in sept- mom, me, my 2 sisters and my cousin (who is like a second mom to us). WE shopped so much! in fact, we laughed on the first day when we had to remind ourselves to actually ride a ride in between all the shopping. it was fun to go in every store and not worry about DH waiting for me.

can't wait to read about the Dec trip though!

He will be working for Banfield which is located in the PetSmart stores. He debated about working for "corporate" (i.e. Banfield) vs working for a private clinic but finally decided to start there and get his loans all paid off (geez--vet school is EXPENSIVE!) and then his dream is to own a mobile clinic. I think he'll do it, too.

Yes, I read your entire trip report when you went to DL! Looked like so much fun!

 

[PoppyGirl]

Here are a few photos from our trip:

This one is from the phototographer at AKL. I loved how our pictures turned out:

 

[skater]

I really love the AKL photos!