Danauk
<font color=green>I would be sitting on the patio
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2003
- Messages
- 14,597
Day 2 22nd December Touring the resorts to see the decorations and Osborne lights.
The cast:
Me (Karen) mad planner and disaholic
Pete, my husband, hates planning, goes along with what we happen to be doing
Andrew, best friend and Disney mad
Sue, best friend, married to Andrew, also Disney mad but doesnt often admit it (although admits it more these days!)
As I went to bed early I was wide awake by 5:30am!! I was determined not to get up just yet but gave up at 6:30 and headed for the shower. Everyone else had the same idea though so we were dressed and by the Market Place door with the mugs for when it opened at 7am. We grabbed a few muffins and a carton of juice and headed back to the room for breakfast and to make a plan for the day. We decided that as we had a car and a kitchen we would go out to the supermarket to stock up on a few breakfast and lunch items. As Andrew remembered the way to Windixie we headed out there and stocked up (Andrew and I sneaked a few tubs of ice cream in there too!!)
After we unloaded all the shopping we headed out to tour the resorts. We walked through the International Gateway at Epcot and walked through to catch the monorail to the TTC. I decided to ask if we could sit up front which we managed to do (much to everyones delight.) We were able to get some really cool photos which was a great way to start the trip. Then we caught the monorail to the Contemporary. I was quite disappointed with the decorations there. They had a neat gingerbread Pinocchio display in the lobby but not many trees or other decorations on the concourse. We decided as it was lunch time to have lunch at the Concourse Steakhouse which was great. The sun was shining in and the restaurant was lovely and warm. Then we decided to carry on the monorail loop and stop at the Poly. The decorations here were cute. The tree was neat and the garlands and wreaths were amazing. Plus they had a small Poly gingerbread replica with a train going around it. We had a quick wonder around the hotel as I had never been there before and then went for a brief rest on the beach.
After a break we carried on the loop to the Grand Floridian. The decorations there were stunning. I loved the gingerbread house and the huge tree, plus the garlands and wreaths. I also loved the lady wondering around handing out candy canes. We decided to have a look around the shop where we saw a young boy just sitting on his own on the floor cross legged reading a book quietly, it looked so cute!! Suddenly though Andrew disappeared and we couldnt find him for about 10 minutes. When we eventually found him he looked worn out. Apparently he had seen Cinderellas carriage go past with the white horses and deicide to take a picture of it. Only as he got outside the carriage pulled away so he decided to run after it. At the time he didnt realise how far it was going to go!! He did get a nice picture in the end though.
So then we decided to carry on the monorail loop back to the contemporary and then catch the boat over to the Wilderness Lodge. The decorations there were also stunning. We grabbed some coffees and sat in the lobby in front of the fire. Sue and I decided to take some photos but the sun was shining through the lobby too much so we couldnt get any good shots. Then I noticed Em and her mum in the lobby so went over for a chat.
By now it was getting dark so we caught the boat back to the MK then the monorail back to the TTC and on to Epcot. Then we walked back to the villa for a brief rest before walking over to MGM to view the Osborne lights. We decided to view then when Fantasmic was on as we thought the crowds would be better. This was a good plan as the streets were really quiet. This was one thing that had struck me so far about the whole trip. I had been told by so many people that the crowds would be silly, but I actually thought it was quite quiet! I wasnt sure what I was going to make of the lights as I had seen lots of pictures. They looked even better in real life and I loved the fake snow falling too. I searched for a few hidden Mixkeys but could only find a few! After viewing the lights we walked back to the villa for pizza and ice cream before heading off to bed. We have to be up early tomorrow for our backstage magic tour.
The cast:
Me (Karen) mad planner and disaholic
Pete, my husband, hates planning, goes along with what we happen to be doing
Andrew, best friend and Disney mad
Sue, best friend, married to Andrew, also Disney mad but doesnt often admit it (although admits it more these days!)
As I went to bed early I was wide awake by 5:30am!! I was determined not to get up just yet but gave up at 6:30 and headed for the shower. Everyone else had the same idea though so we were dressed and by the Market Place door with the mugs for when it opened at 7am. We grabbed a few muffins and a carton of juice and headed back to the room for breakfast and to make a plan for the day. We decided that as we had a car and a kitchen we would go out to the supermarket to stock up on a few breakfast and lunch items. As Andrew remembered the way to Windixie we headed out there and stocked up (Andrew and I sneaked a few tubs of ice cream in there too!!)
After we unloaded all the shopping we headed out to tour the resorts. We walked through the International Gateway at Epcot and walked through to catch the monorail to the TTC. I decided to ask if we could sit up front which we managed to do (much to everyones delight.) We were able to get some really cool photos which was a great way to start the trip. Then we caught the monorail to the Contemporary. I was quite disappointed with the decorations there. They had a neat gingerbread Pinocchio display in the lobby but not many trees or other decorations on the concourse. We decided as it was lunch time to have lunch at the Concourse Steakhouse which was great. The sun was shining in and the restaurant was lovely and warm. Then we decided to carry on the monorail loop and stop at the Poly. The decorations here were cute. The tree was neat and the garlands and wreaths were amazing. Plus they had a small Poly gingerbread replica with a train going around it. We had a quick wonder around the hotel as I had never been there before and then went for a brief rest on the beach.
After a break we carried on the loop to the Grand Floridian. The decorations there were stunning. I loved the gingerbread house and the huge tree, plus the garlands and wreaths. I also loved the lady wondering around handing out candy canes. We decided to have a look around the shop where we saw a young boy just sitting on his own on the floor cross legged reading a book quietly, it looked so cute!! Suddenly though Andrew disappeared and we couldnt find him for about 10 minutes. When we eventually found him he looked worn out. Apparently he had seen Cinderellas carriage go past with the white horses and deicide to take a picture of it. Only as he got outside the carriage pulled away so he decided to run after it. At the time he didnt realise how far it was going to go!! He did get a nice picture in the end though.
So then we decided to carry on the monorail loop back to the contemporary and then catch the boat over to the Wilderness Lodge. The decorations there were also stunning. We grabbed some coffees and sat in the lobby in front of the fire. Sue and I decided to take some photos but the sun was shining through the lobby too much so we couldnt get any good shots. Then I noticed Em and her mum in the lobby so went over for a chat.
By now it was getting dark so we caught the boat back to the MK then the monorail back to the TTC and on to Epcot. Then we walked back to the villa for a brief rest before walking over to MGM to view the Osborne lights. We decided to view then when Fantasmic was on as we thought the crowds would be better. This was a good plan as the streets were really quiet. This was one thing that had struck me so far about the whole trip. I had been told by so many people that the crowds would be silly, but I actually thought it was quite quiet! I wasnt sure what I was going to make of the lights as I had seen lots of pictures. They looked even better in real life and I loved the fake snow falling too. I searched for a few hidden Mixkeys but could only find a few! After viewing the lights we walked back to the villa for pizza and ice cream before heading off to bed. We have to be up early tomorrow for our backstage magic tour.
